7This study analyzes the effects of irrigation modernization on water conservation, using 8 the Riegos del Alto Aragón (RAA) irrigation project (NE Spain, 123.354

No abstract

An analysis of the spatial and temporal patterns of global burned area with the Daily Tile US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer Pathfinder 8 km Land dataset between 1981 and 2000 is presented. Nine distinct temporal and spatial fire patterns were identified at the global scale using principal components and cluster analysis. Three major fire seasons were identified from June to December and from February to June for different areas of the northern hemisphere and from October to March for the southern hemisphere. The area burned primarily followed the annual cycle and secondarily, an important 6-month cycle. Temporal cycles were unimportant in some equatorial and tropical areas in the northern hemisphere. The total annual burned area has not increased in the last 20 years but a significant increase was found in the mid-latitude and subtropical areas of the northern hemisphere which was offset by a slight decrease in burned area in tropical southeast Asia and Central America. Additionally, burned area has significantly increased during the summer in the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere and in the boreal region, and the fire season starts earlier in the midlatitudes. Total burned area was explained by the extent of savanna (wooded grassland) cover. Latitude was not determinative as divergent fire patterns were encountered and did not have an impact on extent of burned area at our spatial level of analysis. Nomenclature:ARIMA 5 autoregressive integrated moving average AVHRR 5 Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer CL 5 cluster group GAC 5 NOAA-AVHRR global area coverage MODIS 5 moderate resolution imaging spectrometer n 5 number of cases for each specific analysis NOAA 5 US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration P 5 probability of a significant trend PAL 5 NOAA-AVHRR Pathfinder Land 8-km land dataset PC 5 principal component Q 5 Mann-Kendall seasonal nonparametric estimator of slope SD 5 standard deviation SE 5 standard error

The surface Irrigated District V of the Bardenas Canal (Zaragoza, Spain)

The analysis of long-term irrigation performance series is a valuable tool to improve irrigation management and efficiency. This work focuses in the assessment of irrigation performance indices along years 1995 to 2008, and the cause-effect relationships with irrigation modernization works taking place in the 4000 ha surface-irrigated La Violada Irrigation District (VID). Irrigation management was poor, as shown by the low mean seasonal irrigation consumptive use coefficient (ICUC = 51%) and the high relative water deficit (RWD = 20%) and drainage fraction (DRF = 54%). April had the poorest irrigation performance because corn (with low water demand in this month) was irrigated to promote its emergence, whereas winter grains (with high water demands in this month) were not fully irrigated in water-scarce years. Corn, highly sensitive to water stress, was the crop with best irrigation performance because it was preferentially irrigated to minimize yield losses. The construction of a new elevated canal that 2 decreased seepage and drainage fractions, the entrance in operation of six internal reservoirs that would increase irrigation scheduling flexibility, and the on-going transformation from surface to sprinkler irrigation systems are critical changes in VID that should lead to improved ICUC, lower RWD and lower DRF. The implications of these modernization works on the conservation of water quantity and quality within and outside VID is further discussed.