IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i20p13275-d943393.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effect of Climate Change on the Quality of Soil, Groundwater, and Pomegranate Fruit Production in Al-Baha Region, Saudi Arabia: A Modeling Study Using SALTMED

Author

Listed:
  • Abdulaziz G. Alghamdi

    (Department of Soil Sciences, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia)

  • Anwar A. Aly

    (Soil and Water Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21545, Egypt)

  • Hesham M. Ibrahim

    (Department of Soil Sciences, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
    Department of Soils and Water, Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt)

Abstract

Groundwater depletion coupled with climate change, increasing temperature, and decreasing precipitation, has led to groundwater quality deterioration and diminishing groundwater quantity, subsequently affecting agricultural productivity in arid environments. The groundwater of the Al-Baha region, Saudi Arabia is located in unconfined shallow aquifers and responds quickly to climate change. The Al-Baha region is facing an increase in temperature and a substantial decrease in precipitation. Over the 24-year period from 1995 to 2019, average temperatures increased by 1.1 °C–1.6 °C, while rainfall decreased by 24–41%. Consequently, this study aimed at investigating the influence of climate change on soil salinity and pomegranate productivity. To achieve this goal, a hundred and fifteen samples of soil and groundwater were collected from different locations in the Al-Baha region. Furthermore, the SALTMED model was calibrated using the salinities of 50 groundwater samples, which are used as irrigation water, and climatic data from the year 2020. The model was then validated using 65 irrigation water salinities and climatic data from the year 2020. Pomegranate fruit yield was used as the main variable for calibration and validation. After successful calibration and validation, the SALTMED model was run using ‘what if’ scenarios for the years 2044, 2068, and 2092. It is assumed that the temperature will increase, while the annual rainfall will decrease in upcoming decades. Consequently, the groundwater salinities will reach 1.44, 2.59, and 4.67 dS m −1 for the years 2044, 2068, and 2092, respectively. The results revealed that the soil salinities will increase by 113%, 300%, and 675%, respectively, compared with the average soil salinity of the year 2020 (2.22 dS m −1 ). Furthermore, the pomegranate tree productivity in the Al-Baha region will decrease significantly (24.0%, 36.6%, and 41.6%) in the predicted three years due to deterioration of groundwater quality and increasing temperatures. Interventions by the regional authorities to minimize the impact of climate change on crop and fruit productivity and groundwater deterioration in the Al-Baha region should be planned and carried out as soon as possible. The method used in this investigation can be utilized in similar ecosystems worldwide.

Suggested Citation

  • Abdulaziz G. Alghamdi & Anwar A. Aly & Hesham M. Ibrahim, 2022. "Effect of Climate Change on the Quality of Soil, Groundwater, and Pomegranate Fruit Production in Al-Baha Region, Saudi Arabia: A Modeling Study Using SALTMED," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:20:p:13275-:d:943393
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/20/13275/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/20/13275/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Józef Ober & Janusz Karwot & Serhii Rusakov, 2022. "Tap Water Quality and Habits of Its Use: A Comparative Analysis in Poland and Ukraine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-29, January.
    2. Ragab, R. & Malash, N. & Abdel Gawad, G. & Arslan, A. & Ghaibeh, A., 2005. "A holistic generic integrated approach for irrigation, crop and field management: 1. The SALTMED model and its calibration using field data from Egypt and Syria," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 78(1-2), pages 67-88, September.
    3. Ragab, R. & Malash, N. & Gawad, G. Abdel & Arslan, A. & Ghaibeh, A., 2005. "A holistic generic integrated approach for irrigation, crop and field management: 2. The SALTMED model validation using field data of five growing seasons from Egypt and Syria," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 78(1-2), pages 89-107, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. El-Shafie, A.F. & Osama, M.A. & Hussein, M.M. & El-Gindy, A.M. & Ragab, R., 2017. "Predicting soil moisture distribution, dry matter, water productivity and potato yield under a modified ‎gated pipe irrigation system: SALTMED model application using field experimental data," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 221-233.
    2. Chauhdary, Junaid Nawaz & Bakhsh, Allah & Engel, Bernard A. & Ragab, Ragab, 2019. "Improving corn production by adopting efficient fertigation practices: Experimental and modeling approach," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 449-461.
    3. Chen, Weiping & Hou, Zhenan & Wu, Laosheng & Liang, Yongchao & Wei, Changzhou, 2010. "Evaluating salinity distribution in soil irrigated with saline water in arid regions of northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(12), pages 2001-2008, November.
    4. Abdelraouf R. E. & H. G. Ghanem & Najat A. Bukhari & Mohamed El-Zaidy, 2020. "Field and Modeling Study on Manual and Automatic Irrigation Scheduling under Deficit Irrigation of Greenhouse Cucumber," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-20, November.
    5. Chauhdary, Junaid Nawaz & Bakhsh, Allah & Ragab, Ragab & Khaliq, Abdul & Engel, Bernard A. & Rizwan, Muhammad & Shahid, Muhammad Adnan & Nawaz, Qamar, 2020. "Modeling corn growth and root zone salinity dynamics to improve irrigation and fertigation management under semi-arid conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    6. Ramos, Tiago B. & Darouich, Hanaa & Šimůnek, Jiří & Gonçalves, Maria C. & Martins, José C., 2019. "Soil salinization in very high-density olive orchards grown in southern Portugal: Current risks and possible trends," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 265-281.
    7. Wang, Lichun & Ning, Songrui & Chen, Xiaoli & Li, Youli & Guo, Wenzhong & Ben-Gal, Alon, 2021. "Modeling tomato root water uptake influenced by soil salinity under drip irrigation with an inverse method," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    8. Afzal, M. & Battilani, A. & Solimando, D. & Ragab, R., 2016. "Improving water resources management using different irrigation strategies and water qualities: Field and modelling study," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 40-54.
    9. Zou, Ping & Yang, Jingsong & Fu, Jianrong & Liu, Guangming & Li, Dongshun, 2010. "Artificial neural network and time series models for predicting soil salt and water content," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(12), pages 2009-2019, November.
    10. Barnard, J.H. & Bennie, A.T.P. & van Rensburg, L.D. & Preez, C.C. du, 2015. "SWAMP: A soil layer water supply model for simulating macroscopic crop water uptake under osmotic stress," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 150-163.
    11. Hassanli, Mohammad & Ebrahimian, Hamed & Mohammadi, Ehsan & Rahimi, Amirreza & Shokouhi, Amirhossein, 2016. "Simulating maize yields when irrigating with saline water, using the AquaCrop, SALTMED, and SWAP models," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 91-99.
    12. Abdur Rashid & Muhammad Ayub & Zahid Ullah & Asmat Ali & Seema Anjum Khattak & Liaqat Ali & Xubo Gao & Chengcheng Li & Sardar Khan & Hamed A. El-Serehy & Prashant Kaushik, 2022. "Geochemical Modeling Source Provenance, Public Health Exposure, and Evaluating Potentially Harmful Elements in Groundwater: Statistical and Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-28, May.
    13. Karandish, Fatemeh & Šimůnek, Jiří, 2019. "A comparison of the HYDRUS (2D/3D) and SALTMED models to investigate the influence of various water-saving irrigation strategies on the maize water footprint," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 809-820.
    14. Zhou Jiang & Xin Shen & Bo Shi & Mengjie Cui & Yanhong Wang & Ping Li, 2022. "Arsenic Mobilization and Transformation by Ammonium-Generating Bacteria Isolated from High Arsenic Groundwater in Hetao Plain, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-15, August.
    15. Jing Wang & Liang Zhang & Huiping Zhang & Ying Zhang, 2023. "Research on a Coordination Evaluation and Prediction Model of Water Use and Industrial Ecosystem Development," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-15, January.
    16. Fanny Soetaert & Heike Wanke & Alain Dupuy & Vanessa Lusuekikio & Eric C. Gaucher & Vincent Bordmann & Jean-Marc Fleury & Michel Franceschi, 2022. "Toward the Sustainable Use of Groundwater Springs: A Case Study from Namibia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-18, March.
    17. Haniye Safarpour & Massoud Tabesh & Seyyed Ahmadreza Shahangian & Mohsen Hajibabaei & Robert Sitzenfrei, 2022. "Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Wastewater Systems under Applying Water Demand Management Policies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-18, June.
    18. Yinxin Ge & Jin Wu & Binghua Li & Xiaoyuan Cao & Jiangyue Wu, 2022. "Analysis and Evaluation of Variation Characteristics in Groundwater Resources Carrying Capacity in Beijing between 2010 and 2020," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-16, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:20:p:13275-:d:943393. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.