Water resources and environmental change in a Mediterranean environment: The south-west sector of the Duero river basin (Spain)

Barbancho, Antonio Ceballos; Morán-Tejéda, Enrique; Luengo-Ugidos, Miguel Ángel; Llorente-Pinto, José Manuel

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.12.004

Cited by 70 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Water resources are also affected by successive droughts. Several very dry years in sequence are often observed in the Mediterranean region (Cudennec et al, 2007), and their frequency could increase due to climate change (Ceballos-Barbancho et al, 2008). In these regions, mountains may obviously play an important role in the regional water balance (Pitlick 1994;Flerchinger & Cooley, 2000;Khazaei et al, 2003;Viviroli et al, 2003), but the contribution of snow and rain to the annual and multi-annual water balance is still largely unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the Snowmelt Runoff Model in the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains using two snow-cover estimates

Boudhar

Hanich

Boulet

et al. 2009

Hydrological Sciences Journal

111

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In the centre of Morocco, the High Atlas mountain range represents the most important water storage for the neighbouring arid plains through liquid and solid precipitation. In this context, we evaluated the performance of the Snowmelt Runoff Model (SRM) on the five main tributary watersheds of the High Atlas range. Due to the very low density of climate stations in the High Atlas, snowfall and snowmelt processes are difficult to monitor using meteorological data alone. In order to compensate for the lack of in situ data, snow maps are also derived from remotely-sensed data. We compared the streamflow forecasting performance when the model is driven by one or the other estimate of snow-covered area. Both estimates are generally comparable in all watersheds, and satisfactory streamflow simulations were obtained at seasonal time scales using both snow-cover products. However, significant differences can be observed for selected storms, with more accurate streamflow predictions being obtained when the remotely-sensed data are used. Evaluation du Modèle Snowmelt Runoff dans le Haut Atlas Marocain en utilisant deux estimations des surfaces enneigéesRésumé Au centre du Maroc, la chaîne montagneuse du Haut Atlas constitue un véritable château d'eau pour les plaines arides avoisinantes, et ce grâce aux précipitations liquides et solides. Dans ce contexte, nous avons évalué les performances du modèle Snowmelt Runoff (SRM) dans les cinq principaux sous-bassins versants du Haut Atlas. En raison de la très faible densité des stations climatiques dans le Haut Atlas, les processus de chute et de fonte des neiges sont difficiles à contrôler avec des données météorologiques seules. Afin de compenser l'absence de données in situ, des cartes d'enneigement sont également dérivées de données issues de la télédétection. Nous avons comparé les performances de SRM pour la prévision de l'écoulement en cours d'eau à partir des deux types de carte. Les surfaces enneigées déduites par ces deux méthodes sont généralement comparables dans tous les sous-bassins versants, et des simulations d'écoulement satisfaisantes ont été obtenues à l'échelle saisonnière à partir des deux estimations de surface de neige. En revanche, des différences significatives peuvent être observées pour certains événements avec des prévisions d'écoulement plus précises lorsque les données issues de la télédétection sont utilisées.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the Snowmelt Runoff Model in the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains using two snow-cover estimates

Boudhar

Hanich

Boulet

et al. 2009

Hydrological Sciences Journal

111

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“…A number of downstream reservoirs collect water for a variety of purposes, giving rise to relatively high rates of impoundment at the outlet of the river. In previous studies of the Duero basin, we demonstrated negative trends in river discharges in relation to atmospheric variables and land-cover changes (Ceballos-Barbancho et al 2008, Morán-Tejeda et al 2010. Nevertheless, changes in the most extreme flow episodes remain unidentified.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 51%

“…As for the high flows, the most obvious and significant trends in low flows were evident in spring and summer. These results need to be considered in the context of decreasing water resources in the Duero basin (Ceballos-Barbancho et al 2008, Morán-Tejeda et al 2010, other parts of Spain (López-Moreno et al 2008), and other countries in the Mediterranean region, including: Turkey (Kahya and Kalayci 2004), the south of France (Lespinas et al 2010) and Greece (Mavromatis and Stathis 2010). These studies have highlighted a generalized reduction in river discharges and runoff during the last 50 years that has often been accompanied by changes in the seasonality of the river regimes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The contrasted evolution of high and low flows and precipitation indices in the Duero basin (Spain)

Morán-Tejéda

López‐Moreno

Vicente‐Serrano

et al. 2012

Hydrological Sciences Journal

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“…Moreover, it is expected that the irrigated areas will increase by 35% by 2027 [12], so the WFblue could reach 3100 Mm 3 /year (25% of the total renewable water resources). This coupled with an expected increase of 5%-11% of potential evapotranspiration [62] and a reduction of 6%-20% in rainfall in the next 50 years [12,63], will hinder future water management. The establishment of a standard environmental flow at river basin scale as a portion of Rnat, beyond the minimal stream flow at different points of the basin, would ensure the long-term sustainability of the water demand.…”

Section: Implications Of the Green And Blue Water Consumptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Water Footprint of Agriculture in Duero River Basin

2015

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Abstract:The aim of this paper is to evaluate the green, blue and grey water footprint (WF) of crops in the Duero river basin. For this purpose CWUModel was developed. CWUModel is able to estimate the green and blue water consumed by crops and the water needed to assimilate the nitrogen leaching resulting from fertilizer application. The total WF of crops in the Spanish Duero river basin was simulated as 9473 Mm 3 /year (59% green, 20% blue and 21% grey). Cultivation of crops in rain-fed lands is responsible for 5548 Mm 3 /year of the WF (86% green and 14% grey), whereas the irrigated WF accounts for 3924 Mm 3 /year (20% green, 47% blue and 33% grey). Barley is the crop with the highest WF, with almost 37% of the total WF for the crops simulated for the basin, followed by wheat (17%). Although maize makes up 16% of the total WF of the basin, the blue and grey components comprise the 36% of the total blue and grey WF in the basin. The relevance of green water goes beyond the rain-fed production, to the extent that in long-cycle irrigated cereals it accounts for over 40% of the total water consumed. Nonetheless, blue water is a key component in agriculture, both for production and economically. The sustainability assessment shows that the current blue water consumption of crops causes a significant or severe water stress level in 2-5 months of the year. The anticipated expansion of irrigation in the coming years could hamper water management, despite the Duero being a relatively humid basin.

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Water resources and environmental change in a Mediterranean environment: The south-west sector of the Duero river basin (Spain)

Cited by 70 publications

References 26 publications

Evaluation of the Snowmelt Runoff Model in the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains using two snow-cover estimates

Evaluation of the Snowmelt Runoff Model in the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains using two snow-cover estimates

The contrasted evolution of high and low flows and precipitation indices in the Duero basin (Spain)

The Water Footprint of Agriculture in Duero River Basin

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