Water demand of central pivot-irrigated areas in Bahia, Brazil: management of water resources applied to sustainable production

Made available in DSpace on 2022-04-28T19:47:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2021-01-01 When performed without technical criteria, the rapid expansion of irrigated agricultural frontiers can result in overexploitation of water, causing worrying impacts on the balance of agroecosystems. This study proposes a model applied to the state of Bahia, to estimate the water demand of areas irrigated by a central pivot, in order to contribute to information that will subsidize the inspection and planning of water resources in the promotion of sustainable agriculture. The irrigated areas were identified and measured by photointerpretation using orbital images from the Landsat-8 satellite. With a historical series of data, the reference evapotranspiration was calculated and monthly water balance was elaborated. The data obtained were spatialized by kriging, and with punctual values of water deficit (mm), the water demand of the irrigated perimeter of the equipment was estimated. The results were described considering strategic planning units, proposed from municipalities, hydrographic basins and biomes. A total of 4075 pivots were quantified, covering an irrigated area of 265,896.30 ha and with an average annual consumption of 1,333,473,208.02 m3 of water. Areas of high demand were identified, especially in the western region of Bahia, which includes the hydrographic basin of the São Francisco River and the Cerrado biome, concentrating 80.85% and 75.47% of the state water demand for pivots, respectively. Considering possible points of water vulnerability and continuity of this expansion, the results provide the primary information needed to encourage the adoption of public policies aimed at the management of water resources. The study method proposes guidelines that condition the application in any region of interest in the world. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.] Center of Agricultural Sciences and Engineering of the Federal University of Espírito Santo Postgraduate in Agronomy Alto Universitário, S/N Guararema Department of Agronomy Federal University of Viçosa Av. Peter Henry Rolfs S/N - University Campus Paulista State University ‘‘Júlio de Mesquita Filho’’/UNESP, Access way Professor Paulo Donato Castelane, Castellane S/N - Vila Industrial Department of Agricultural Engineering Federal University of Viçosa, Av. Peter Henry Rolfs, S/N - University Campus Paulista State University ‘‘Júlio de Mesquita Filho’’/UNESP, Access way Professor Paulo Donato Castelane, Castellane S/N - Vila Industrial