Precision Irrigation and Sustainable Intensification in a Digital and Resilient Agriculture Context
A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water, Agriculture and Aquaculture".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 August 2023) | Viewed by 7034
Special Issue Editors
Interests: agronomy; agriculture; soil-water-plant-atmosphere relationships; water use of fruit crops; irrigation engineering; environmental monitoring; remote sensing; data acquisition systems and automation
Interests: evapotranspiration; plant water requirements; irrigation; deficit irrigation; plant water stress; green infrastructure water management
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Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Irrigation, a key practice for effective agriculture in arid and semi-arid climates, has been associated with crop intensification since ancient times. Nowadays, as stated by FAO, sustainable intensive agriculture is a key approach to accomplish with global population and food consumption trends. Thus, arable land is limited and, at a global scale, it is necessary to produce more with fewer inputs, and reduced environmental impact, per unit surface of land.
Diet and nutrition are key issues for the development of societies, since incorrect alimentation leading to deficient or excess food intake and micronutrient deficiencies, and unhealthy lifestyles, is linked to the development of chronic-degenerative diseases (largely preventable) like obesity, diabetes mellitus and some types of cancer.
The necessary increase in global food production and in the proportion of fruits, vegetables, legumes and pulses in the diet must be accompanied by improvements in its nutritional quality and production efficiency, the latter minimizing the risks of soil and water pollution, the loss of biodiversity, the food waste and losses, and the unsustainable use of plant protection products.
In conjunction with global climate change, the increase in worldwide population, in industrialization, in standard of living and in irrigated area (with concomitant increases in the use of fertilizers and plant protection products), has increased the use of water resources in agriculture, leading to an increase in their scarcity and/or pollution in many areas.
Precision irrigation, which involves rational irrigation strategies and sensor-based systems (automation and remote sensing) supported by digital technologies, has proven to be an effective tool to materialize sustainable intensive agriculture in areas with water deficit.
In this context, this Special Issue aims to gather new and innovative knowledge, technology and agricultural practices related to precision irrigation, to achieve a resilient, ecologically adjusted and sustainable intensive agriculture suitable to overcome the challenges from global climate change and global population. Review articles, and historic and didactic works aiming to systematize the increasing volume of knowledge and to link tradition with innovation, will also be considered as valuable contributions to this Special Issue.
Dr. Nuno Conceição
Prof. Dr. Teresa Afonso do Paço
Prof. Dr. José Enrique Fernández
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- deficit irrigation
- climate smart irrigation
- digital technologies
- environmental, soil, water, plant and yield monitoring
- hydraulics and related technology
- evapotranspiration modelling and crop coefficients
- nano-sensors and nanotechnology
- nutrient use efficiency
- remote and proximal sensing
- water relations and survival strategies
- water use and evapotranspiration partition
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