Is irrigated agriculture in the Murray Darling Basin well prepared to deal with reductions in water availability?

Wei, Yongping; Langford, John; Willett, I.R.; Barlow, Snow; Lyle, Clive

doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2011.04.004

Cited by 63 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Bush fires were more numerous and intense and occurred earlier in the season during the drought (Sharples et al 2010). Some changes in the climate and extreme weather events in Australia have been attributed to global warming, and climate projections indicate that dry conditions are likely to be more regular and severe than in previous years (Wei et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Observed Vegetation Changes on Land–Atmosphere Feedbacks During Drought

Meng

Evans

McCabe

2014

Journal of Hydrometeorology

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Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-derived vegetation fraction data were used to update the boundary conditions of the advanced research Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model to assess the influence of realistic vegetation cover on climate simulations in southeast Australia for the period 2000-08. Results show that modeled air temperature was improved when MODIS data were incorporated, while precipitation changes little with only a small decrease in the bias. Air temperature changes in different seasons reflect the variability of vegetation cover well, while precipitation changes have a more complicated relationship to changes in vegetation fraction. Both MODIS and climatology-based simulation experiments capture the overall precipitation changes, indicating that precipitation is dominated by the large-scale circulation, with local vegetation changes contributing variations around these.Simulated feedbacks between vegetation fraction, soil moisture, and drought over southeast Australia were also investigated. Results indicate that vegetation fraction changes lag precipitation reductions by 6-8 months in nonarid regions. With the onset of the 2002 drought, a potential fast physical mechanism was found to play a positive role in the soil moisture-precipitation feedback, while a slow biological mechanism provides a negative feedback in the soil moisture-precipitation interaction on a longer time scale. That is, in the short term, a reduction in soil moisture leads to a reduction in the convective potential and, hence, precipitation, further reducing the soil moisture. If low levels of soil moisture persist long enough, reductions in vegetation cover and vigor occur, reducing the evapotranspiration and thus reducing the soil moisture decreases and dampening the fast physical feedback. Importantly, it was observed that these feedbacks are both space and time dependent.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Observed Vegetation Changes on Land–Atmosphere Feedbacks During Drought

Meng

Evans

McCabe

2014

Journal of Hydrometeorology

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“…Their responses reflected that there is a lack of local monitoring and information on water availability and use. The provision of accurate, accessible and useful water information at different scales is essential to deal with reductions in water availability (Wei et al 2011). Reed et al (2006) reported that including thresholds information about the risks at local scale, even when they are difficult to identify, they can further improve the value of monitoring in managed ecosystems.…”

Section: Towards Adaptation To Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Towards Adaptation to Climate Change: Water for Rice in the Coastal Wetlands of Doñana, Southern Spain

Iglesias

Sánchez

Garrote

et al. 2015

Water Resour Manage

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Rice production in coastal wetlands provides critical ecosystem services that range from flood control to wildlife habitat. In the Iberian Peninsula rice was introduced in the 10th Century. Today Iberian rice accounts for about one quarter of the total rice production of the European Union, almost exclusively cultivated in the coastal wetlands of Spain, with permanent flooding. The intensive water management required to produce rice stands at a crucial point since freshwater supply is deteriorating at an unprecedented rate. Here we explore flexible adaptation options to climate change in the Doñana wetlands -a world heritage and biodiversity site -from two points of view: What are the policy options for agricultural water management in view of climate change? How can informed stakeholders contribute to better adaptation? The first question is addressed by simulating water availability to farmers with the WAAPA model under a range of adaptation policy options derived from the view of the local communities. The second question was addressed by means of participatory research. Adaptation options are framed according to the local environmental, social and policy context. Results suggest that perception on the potential role of new water infrastructure and farming subsidies dominates the view of local communities. The choices of the stakeholders that could be simulated with the hydrological model, were quantified in terms of additional water availability for the rice farming, therefore providing a quantitative measure to the qualitative solutions. Information provided during the study shaped the final adaptation options developed. Our research contributes to the definition of sustainable rice production in Europe.Water Resour Manage

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“…The dramatic development of land and water resources has led to unprecedented growth of agricultural production, but with increased human use of water resources, and there has been significant modification of landscapes and a strong human imprint on water cycle dynamics. The MDB has been changed into a highly human impacted and managed river system, and the MDB's water resources and associated ecosystems are in a state of crisis, characterized by highly degraded natural systems, compromised ecological functions, and intense conflict and competition between users of scarce supplies (Wei et al, 2011).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Socio-hydrological water balance for water allocation between human and environmental purposes in catchments

Zhou

Huang

Wei

et al. 2015

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Rebalancing water allocation between human consumptive uses and the environment in water catchments is a global challenge. This paper proposes a socio-hydrological water balance framework by partitioning catchment total evapotranspiration (ET) into ET for society and ET for natural ecological systems, and establishing the linkage between the changes of water balance and its social drivers and resulting environmental consequences in the MurrayDarling Basin (MDB), Australia, over the period 1900-2010. The results show that the 100-year period of water management in the MDB could be divided into four periods corresponding to major changes in basin management within the socio-hydrological water balance framework: period 1 (1900-1956) -expansion of water and land use for the societal system, period 2 (1956-1978) -maximization of water and land use for the societal system, period 3 (1978-2002) -maximization of water use for the societal system from water diversion, and period 4 (2002-present) -rebalancing of water and land use between the societal and ecological systems. Most of management changes in the MDB were passive and responsive. A precautionary approach to water allocation between the societal and ecological systems should be developed. The socio-hydrological water balance framework could serve as a theoretical foundation for water allocation to evaluate the dynamic balance between the societal and ecological systems in catchments.

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Is irrigated agriculture in the Murray Darling Basin well prepared to deal with reductions in water availability?

Cited by 63 publications

References 29 publications

The Impact of Observed Vegetation Changes on Land–Atmosphere Feedbacks During Drought

The Impact of Observed Vegetation Changes on Land–Atmosphere Feedbacks During Drought

Towards Adaptation to Climate Change: Water for Rice in the Coastal Wetlands of Doñana, Southern Spain

Socio-hydrological water balance for water allocation between human and environmental purposes in catchments

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