Hydrological, ecological, land use, economic, and sociocultural evidence for resilience of traditional irrigation communities in New Mexico, USA

Abstract

Abstract. Southwestern US irrigated landscapes are facing upheaval due to climate change-induced water scarcity and economic change-induced land use conversion. Clues to community longevity are found in the traditionally irrigated valleys of northern New Mexico. Human systems have interacted with hydrologic processes over the last 400 yr in river fed irrigated valleys to create linked systems. In this study, we asked if concurrent data from multiple disciplines show that human adapted hydrologic and socioeconomic systems have created conditions for resilience. We identify and describe several areas of resilience: hydrological, ecological, land use, economic, and sociocultural. We found that there are multiple hydrologic benefits of the water seepage from the traditional irrigation systems; it recharges groundwater that recharges rivers, supports threatened biodiversity by maintaining riparian vegetation, and ameliorates impacts of climate change by prolonging streamflow hydrographs. In terms of land use and economics, place-based adaptability manifests itself in transformations of irrigation infrastructure and specific animal and crop systems; as grazing has diminished over time on public land watersheds, it has increased on irrigated valley pastures while outside income allows irrigators to retain their land. Sociocultural evidence shows that traditional local knowledge about the hydrosocial cycle of acequia operations is a key factor in acequia resilience. When irrigators are confronted with unexpected disturbances or changing climate that affect water supply, they adapt specific practices while maintaining community cohesion. Our ongoing work will quantify the multiple disciplinary components of these systems, translate them into a common language of causal loop diagrams, and model future scenarios to identify thresholds and tipping points of sustainability. Early indications are that these systems are not immune to upheaval, but have astonishing resilience.

Mechanism controlling groundwater chemistry in the hyper-arid basin with intermittent river flow: insights from long-term observations (2001–2023) in the lower Heihe River, Northwest China

“…Simultaneously, the groundwater table in this region was the lowest (WTD around 4.6 ± 2.7 m), which even reached a depth of 6.3 m in 2011. As groundwater can be recharged by ephemeral runoff seepage, irrigation return flow, and subsurface lateral inflow , irrigation plays a pivotal role in the extended phreatic water recharge to groundwater (Meredith and Blais, 2019), assuming a critical function in sustaining agricultural production and fostering community stability in arid regions (Fernald et al, 2015). However, groundwater depth, salinity, and major ion concentrations could notably impact the composition and distribution of the plant community (Zeng et al, 2020).…”

The irrigation efficiency trap: rational farm-scale decisions can lead to poor hydrologic outcomes at the basin scale

“…Few studies document the irrigation efficiency trap from farm-scale decisions to basin-scale hydrologic outcomes with measured social and physical data (e.g., Wheeler et al, 2020;Anderson, 2022). But irrigation systems are complex socialecological systems (Lam, 2004) and integrating the hydrologic and social components of irrigation efficiency are important for system understanding and resilience (Fernald et al, 2015;Dunham et al, 2018). To adapt and prepare accordingly, we must examine place-based farm-scale irrigation decisions and how these decisions collectively impact basin-scale hydrology.…”

Multi-decadal analysis of water resources and agricultural change in a Mediterranean semiarid irrigated piedmont under water scarcity and human interaction

“…The so-called "spate irrigation" is one of the oldest traditional irrigation systems widely used all over the world. It is found especially in the Middle East, North Africa, West Asia, East Africa, Europe, and parts of Latin America (Van Steenbergen et al 2011;Fernald et al, 2015;Leibundgut & Kohn, 2014). However, this irrigation system underwent a considerable decline in the second half of the 20 th century (Leibundgut & Kohn, 2014b).…”

“…However, this irrigation system underwent a considerable decline in the second half of the 20 th century (Leibundgut & Kohn, 2014b). This system has been in practical use in very different and contrasted environmental regions around the globe (Fernald et al, 2015;Leibundgut & Kohn, 2014;Mehari et al, 2007;Tesfai, & Stroosnijder, 2001). For instance, in the semi-arid upper Rio Grande of the United States, Fernald et al (2015) reported that community irrigation systems, known as Acequia, which is derived from the word seguia in Arabic meaning an irrigation channel, have been governed by users to divert water from streams to irrigate northern New Mexico's agriculture for centuries.…”

“…This system has been in practical use in very different and contrasted environmental regions around the globe (Fernald et al, 2015;Leibundgut & Kohn, 2014;Mehari et al, 2007;Tesfai, & Stroosnijder, 2001). For instance, in the semi-arid upper Rio Grande of the United States, Fernald et al (2015) reported that community irrigation systems, known as Acequia, which is derived from the word seguia in Arabic meaning an irrigation channel, have been governed by users to divert water from streams to irrigate northern New Mexico's agriculture for centuries. In the northern side of High Atlas in Morocco, traditional irrigation uses not only floods (like spate irrigation), but also the baseflow as long as the wadis might flow during several months, especially thanks to snowmelt (Bouimouass et al, 2020).…”