IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i3p1112-d1328172.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Emergence of Irrigated Agriculture in Semi-Arid Zones in the Face of Climate Change and Urbanization in Peri-Urban Areas in Setif, Algeria

Author

Listed:
  • Lahcene Fertas

    (Laboratory Urban Project, City and Territory (PUVIT), University Ferhat Abbes, Setif 1, Setif 19000, Algeria
    Geography Department, Institute of Architecture and Earth Sciences, University Ferhat Abbes, Setif 1, Setif 19000, Algeria)

  • Mohamed Alouat

    (Laboratory of History, Civilization and Applied Geography, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Bouzereah, Algiers 16000, Algeria)

  • Hamid Benmahamed

    (Geography Department, Institute of Architecture and Earth Sciences, University Ferhat Abbes, Setif 1, Setif 19000, Algeria)

Abstract

This article aims to investigate the complex relationship between a local population and its natural and urban environment. The study area, which was previously dominated by cereal cultivation, is currently facing profitability challenges due to climate change, water scarcity, rapid urban expansion, and the overexploitation of aquifers, influenced by changes in agricultural practices, which are disrupting the local ecosystem. This study relies on three interconnected indicators, population growth, climate change effects on agriculture, and the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), and reveals the impact of these factors on agricultural practices. Google Earth Engine was employed to determine the urbanization and greenness indices using scripts. The significant findings of this study demonstrate the remarkable demographic growth of 49.96% during the study period (2000–2020). Furthermore, this growth has led to a new trend towards intensive farming, with a substantial increase in irrigated lands by 44.19% and a multiplication of protected crop lands by 20 times, rising from 19.88 to 405.89 hectares. Additionally, horticultural production surged by 212.4% during the same period. Moreover, groundwater levels shifted from less than 50 m in the northern regions to less than 150 and 300 m in the southern part of the study area. The water potential in the study zone cannot meet the demands of the new agricultural orientation, which tends to deplete local groundwater, potentially causing recurrent shortages of agricultural products. This study underscores the importance of incorporating agricultural production into future urban planning and development programs to maintain a renewed balance between built environments and agriculture in peri-urban areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Lahcene Fertas & Mohamed Alouat & Hamid Benmahamed, 2024. "The Emergence of Irrigated Agriculture in Semi-Arid Zones in the Face of Climate Change and Urbanization in Peri-Urban Areas in Setif, Algeria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-13, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:3:p:1112-:d:1328172
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/3/1112/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/3/1112/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nadjib Haied & Atif Foufou & Samira Khadri & Adel Boussaid & Mohamed Azlaoui & Nabil Bougherira, 2023. "Spatial and Temporal Assessment of Drought Hazard, Vulnerability and Risk in Three Different Climatic Zones in Algeria Using Two Commonly Used Meteorological Indices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-25, May.
    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. Ioannis M. Kourtis & Harris Vangelis & Dimitris Tigkas & Anna Mamara & Ioannis Nalbantis & George Tsakiris & Vassilios A. Tsihrintzis, 2023. "Drought Assessment in Greece Using SPI and ERA5 Climate Reanalysis Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-19, November.

    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:16:y:2024:i:3:p:1112-:d:1328172. 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.