References

HESS

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences

HESS

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

1607-7938

Copernicus Publications

Göttingen, Germany

10.5194/hess-14-1863-2010

Groundwater use for irrigation – a global inventory

Siebert

¹ Burke

² Faures

J. M.

² Frenken

² Hoogeveen

² Döll

³ Portmann

F. T.

Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy

Institute of Physical Geography, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

12 10 2010

14 10 1863 1880

2010

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This article is available from https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/14/1863/2010/hess-14-1863-2010.html

The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/14/1863/2010/hess-14-1863-2010.pdf

Irrigation is the most important water use sector accounting for about 70% of the global freshwater withdrawals and 90% of consumptive water uses. While the extent of irrigation and related water uses are reported in statistical databases or estimated by model simulations, information on the source of irrigation water is scarce and very scattered. Here we present a new global inventory on the extent of areas irrigated with groundwater, surface water or non-conventional sources, and we determine the related consumptive water uses. The inventory provides data for 15 038 national and sub-national administrative units. Irrigated area was provided by census-based statistics from international and national organizations. A global model was then applied to simulate consumptive water uses for irrigation by water source. Globally, area equipped for irrigation is currently about 301 million ha of which 38% are equipped for irrigation with groundwater. Total consumptive groundwater use for irrigation is estimated as 545 km3 yr−1, or 43% of the total consumptive irrigation water use of 1277 km3 yr−1. The countries with the largest extent of areas equipped for irrigation with groundwater, in absolute terms, are India (39 million ha), China (19 million ha) and the USA (17 million ha). Groundwater use in irrigation is increasing both in absolute terms and in percentage of total irrigation, leading in places to concentrations of users exploiting groundwater storage at rates above groundwater recharge. Despite the uncertainties associated with statistical data available to track patterns and growth of groundwater use for irrigation, the inventory presented here is a major step towards a more informed assessment of agricultural water use and its consequences for the global water cycle.

References 1

Ahmed, I. and Umar, R.: Groundwater flow modelling of Yamuna-Krishni interstream, a part of central Ganga Plain Uttar Pradesh, J. Earth Syst. Sci., 118(5), 507–523, 2009.

Allen, R. G., Pereira, L. S., Raes, D., and Smith, M.: Crop evapotranspiration – guidelines for computing crop water requirements, FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56, FAO, Rome, Italy, 1998.

Bos, M. G. and Nugteren, J.: On irrigation efficiencies, 4th edition, International Institute for Land Reclamation and Improvement (ILRI), Wageningen, The Netherlands, 1990.

Brånvall, G., Eriksson, M., Johansson, U., Svensson, P.: Water accounts, Statistics Sweden, <a href="http://www.scb.se/statistik/_publikationer/MI0902_2000A01_BR_MI71OP0006ENG.pdf">http://www.scb.se/statistik/_publikationer/MI0902_2000A01_BR_MI71OP0006ENG.pdf</a>, last access: 28 May 2010, Stockholm, Sweden, 41 pp., 1999.

Burke, J. J.: Groundwater for irrigation: productivity gains and the need to manage hydro-environmental risk, in: Intensive use of groundwater challenges and opportunities, edited by: Llamas, R. and Custodio, E., Balkema, Abingdon, UK, 478 pp. 2002.

Central Ground Water Board: Dynamic ground water resources of India (as on March 2004), Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, <a href="http://cgwb.gov.in/documents/DGWR2004.pdf">http://cgwb.gov.in/documents/DGWR2004.pdf</a>, last access: 9 April 2010, Faridabad, India, 126 pp., 2006.

Central Ground Water Board: Ground water resource estimation methodology. Report of the Ground Water Resource Estimation Committee, Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, <a href="http://cgwb.gov.in/documents/gec97.pdf">http://cgwb.gov.in/documents/gec97.pdf</a>, last access: 9 April 2010, Faridabad, India, 113 pp., 2009.

Cleary, M.: Land codes and the state in French Cochinchina c. 1900–1940, J. Hist. Geogr., 29, 356–375, https://doi.org/10.1006/jhge.2001.0465, 2003.

Döll, P., Fiedler, K., and Zhang, J.: Global-scale analysis of river flow alterations due to water withdrawals and reservoirs, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 13, 2413–2432, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-13-2413-2009, 2009.

Döll, P.: Vulnerability to the impact of climate change on renewable groundwater resources: a global-scale assessment, Environ. Res. Lett., 4, 035006, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/4/3/035006, 2009.

FAO: AQUASTAT – FAO's global information system on water and agriculture, FAO, <a href="http://www.fao.org/nr/aquastat">http://www.fao.org/nr/aquastat</a>, last access: 16 March 2010, Rome, Italy, 2010.

Federal State Statistics Service: Environment protection in Russia, 2006, Federal State Statistics Service, Moscow, Russia, 234 pp., 2006.

Federal State Statistics Service: Results of all-Russia agricultural census 2006, Vol. III: Soil resources. Federal State Statistics Service, Moscow, Russia, 311 pp., 2008.

Foster, S. S. D. and Perry, C. J.: Improving groundwater resource accounting in irrigated areas: a prerequisite for promoting sustainable use. Hydrogeol. J., 18(2), 291–294, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-009-0560-x, 2010.

Foster, S. and Loucks, D.P.: Non-Renewable Groundwater Resources, Series on Groundwater No. 10, UNESCO, Paris, 2006.

Giordano, M.: Agricultural groundwater use and rural livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa: A first-cut assessment, Hydrogeol. J., 14(3), 310–318, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-005-0479-9, 2006.

Glickman, D., Gonzalez, M., and Donald, M. B.: Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey (1998), 1997 census of agriculture, Volume 3, Special Studies, Part 1, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), <a href="http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/1997/Farm_and_Ranch_Irrigation_Survey/fris97.pdf">http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/1997/Farm_and_Ranch_Irrigation_Survey/fris97.pdf</a>, last access: 9 April 2010, 1999.

Guerra, L. C., Bhuiyan, S. I., Tuong, T. P. and Barker, R.: Producing more rice with less water from irrigated systems, SWIM Paper 5, International Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1998.

Guzman-Soria, E., Hernandez-Martinez, J., Garcia-Salazar, J. A., Rebollar-Rebollar, S., de la Garza-Carranza, M. T., and Hernandez-Soto, D.: Groundwater consumption in Guanajuato, Mexico, Agrociencia, 43(7), 749–761, 2009.

INDIAAGRISTAT: Net area irrigated from different sources of irrigation and gross irrigated area in India (1950–1951 to 2005–2006), Data compiled from statistics released by Ministry of Agriculture Govt. of India, <a href="http://www.indiastat.com/table/agriculture/2/irrigationbysource/449345/10539/data.aspx">http://www.indiastat.com/table/agriculture/2/irrigationbysource/449345/10539/data.aspx</a>, last access: 31 May 2010, 2010.

Kenny, J. F., Barber, N. L., Hutson, S. S., Linsey, K. S., Lovelace, J. K., and Maupin, M. A.: Estimated use of water in the United States in 2005, <a href="http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1344/pdf/c1344.pdf">http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1344/pdf/c1344.pdf</a>, last access: 9 April 2010, US Geological Survey Circular 1344, Reston, Virginia, USA, 52 pp., 2009.

Konikow, L. F. and Kendy, E.: Groundwater depletion: A global problem, Hydrogeol. J., 13, 317–320, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-004-0411-8, 2005.

Narayanamoorthy, A.: Trends in irrigated area in India:1950-51 to 2002-03. Presentation held at the First International Workshop on Global Irrigated Area Mapping, 25–27 September 2006, <a href="http://www.iwmigiam.org/info/main/presentations/Day2-03-Narayanmurthi-Trends\20Irrigated\20in\201950-51\202002-03.pdf">http://www.iwmigiam.org/info/main/presentations/Day2-03-Narayanmurthi-Trends\20Irrigated\20in\201950-51\202002-03.pdf</a>, last access: 31 May 2010, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2006.

Oosterbaan, R. J.: Hydrological and environmental impacts of the irrigation improvement projects in Egypt, Nile Valley and Delta, Report of a consultancy assignment to the Egyptian-Dutch Water management Panel, ILRI, <a href="http://www.waterlog.info/pdf/irrimpr.pdf">http://www.waterlog.info/pdf/irrimpr.pdf</a>, last access: 19 March 2010, Wageningen, 51 pp., 1999.

Ozdogan, M. and Gutman, G.: A new methodology to map irrigated areas using multi-temporal MODIS and ancillary data: An application example in the continental US, Remote Sens. Environ., 112, 3520–3537, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2008.04.010, 2008.

Pervez, S., Brown, J. F., and Maxwell, S.: Evaluation of remote sensing-based irrigated area map for the conterminious United States, Proceedings of the ASPRS Pecora 17 conference, 18–20 November 2008, <a href="http://www.asprs.org/publications/proceedings/pecora17/pecora17_proceedings/0027.pdf">http://www.asprs.org/publications/proceedings/pecora17/pecora17_proceedings/0027.pdf</a>, last access: 19 March 2010, Denver, Colorado, USA, 2008.

Portmann, F. T., Siebert, S., and Döll, P.: MIRCA2000 – Global Monthly Irrigated and Rainfed Crop Areas around the year 2000: A new high-resolution data set for agricultural and hydrological modeling, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 24, GB1011, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GB003435, 2010.

Rodell, M., Velicogna, I., and Famiglietti, J. S.: Satellite-based estimates of groundwater depletion in India, Nature, 460, 999–1002, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08238, 2009.

Rost, S., Gerten, D., Bondeau, A., Lucht, W., Rohwer, J., and Schaphoff, S.: Agricultural green and blue water consumption and its influence on the global water system, Water Resour. Res., 44, W09405, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007WR006331, 2008.

Scanlon, B. R., Jolly, I., Sophocleous, M., and Zhang, L.: Global impacts of conversions from natural to agricultural ecosystems on water resources: Quantity versus quality, Water Resour. Res., 43, W03437, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006WR005486, 2007.

Shah, T.: Taming the anarchy: groundwater governance in South Asia. Resources for the Future, Washington, DC, and International Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 310 pp., 2009.

Shah, T., Burke, J., and Villholth, K.: Groundwater: a global assessment of scale and significance, in: Water for Food, Water for Life, edited by: Molden, D., Earthscan, London, UK and IWMI, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 395–423, 2007.

Shiklomanov, I. A.: Appraisal and assessment of world water resources, Water Int., 25(1), 11–32, 2000.

Siebert, S. and Döll, P.: Quantifying blue and green virtual water contents in global crop production as well as potential production losses without irrigation, J. Hydrol., 384(3–4), 198–217, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.07.031, 2010.

Siebert, S., Hoogeveen, J., and Frenken, K.: Irrigation in Africa, Europe and Latin America. Update of the Digital Global Map of Irrigation Areas to Version 4, Frankfurt Hydrology Paper 05, Institute of Physical Geography, University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 134 pp., 2006.

Siebert, S., Döll, P., Hoogeveen, J., Faures, J.-M., Frenken, K., and Feick, S.: Development and validation of the global map of irrigation areas, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 9, 535–547, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-9-535-2005, 2005.

Smith, R. B.: Italian irrigation: a report on the agricultural canals of Piedmont and Lombardy, Allen and Co., London, Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh, 434 pp., 1852.

Statistics Sweden: Water withdrawal and water use in Sweden 2005, Statistics Sweden, <a href="http://www.scb.se/statistik/MI/MI0902/2005A01A/MI0902_2005A01A_SM_MI27SM0701.pdf">http://www.scb.se/statistik/MI/MI0902/2005A01A/MI0902_2005A01A_SM_MI27SM0701.pdf</a>, last access: 28 May 2010, Stockholm, Sweden, 23 pp., 2007.

Thenkabail, P. S., Biradar, C. M., Noojipady, P., Dheeravath, V., Li, Y., Velpuri, M., Gumma, M., Gangalakunta, O. R. P., Turral, H., Cai, X., Vithanage, J., Schull, M. A., and Dutta, R.: Global irrigated area map (GIAM), derived from remote sensing for the end of the last millennium, Int. J. Remote Sens., 30(14), 3679–3733, https://doi.org/10.1080/01431160802698919, 2009.

US Department of Agriculture: Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey (1994), 1992 census of agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), <a href="http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/1992/Farm_and_Ranch_Irrigation_Survey/index.asp">http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/1992/Farm_and_Ranch_Irrigation_Survey/index.asp</a>, last access: 9 April 2010, 1996.

US Department of Commerce: Irrigation and Drainage, Fourteenth census of the United States 1920, Volume VII, Bureau of the Census, Government Printing Office, Washington, USA, 1922.

US Department of Commerce: Irrigation of agricultural lands, Fifteenth census of the United States 1930, Bureau of the Census, Government Printing Office, Washington, USA, 1932.

US Department of Commerce: Irrigation of agricultural lands, Sixteenth census of the United States 1940, Bureau of the Census, Government Printing Office, Washington, USA, 1942.

US Department of Commerce: Irrigation of agricultural lands, United States census of agriculture 1950, Volume III, Bureau of the Census, Government Printing Office, Washington, USA, 1952.

US Department of Commerce: United States summary and state data, United States census of agriculture 1982, Volume 1, Part 51, Bureau of the Census, Government Printing Office, Washington, USA, 1984.

Veneman, A. M., Jen, J. J., and Bosecker, R. R.: Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey (2003), 2002 census of agriculture, Volume 3, Special Studies, Part 1, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), <a href="http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2002/FRIS/fris03.pdf">http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2002/FRIS/fris03.pdf</a>, last access: 9 April 2010, 2004.

Vörösmarty, C. J., Leveque, C., and Revenga, C.: Fresh water, in: Ecosystems and human well-being: current states and trends, Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, Condition and Trends Working Group, Island Press, Washington, DC, 165–207, 2005.

Wang, J., Huang, J., Rozelle, S., Huang, Q., and Zhang, L.: Understanding the water crisis in Northern China: what the government and farmers are doing, Int. J. Water Resour. D., 25(1), 141–158, https://doi.org/10.1080/07900620802517566, 2009.

Wisser, D., Frolking, S., Douglas, E. M., Fekete, B. M., Schumann, A. H., and Vörösmarty, C. J.: The significance of local water resources captured in small reservoirs for crop production – A global-scale analysis, J. Hydrol., 384, 264–275, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.07.032, 2009.

Zektser, I. S. and Everett, L. G.: Groundwater resources of the world and their use, UNESCO IHP-VI Series on Groundwater No 6, UNESCO, Paris, France, <a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001344/134433e.pdf">http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001344/134433e.pdf</a>, last access: 9 April 2010, 2004.