Trajectory of Irrigation Water Use in Many Regions is Unsustainable, But Practice is Vital in Managing Climate Change and Future Agricultural Development, Researchers Conclude.
A new study by an international team of researchers shows how irrigation affects regional climates and environments around the world, illuminating how and where the practice is both untenable and beneficial.
The analysis, which appears in the journal Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, also points to ways to improve assessments in order to achieve sustainable water use and food production in the future.
Read more at: New York University
Around the world, agricultural practices have developed as a function of topography, soil type, crop type, annual rainfall, and tradition. Featured above (clockwise from the upper left) are agricultural lands in Minnesota, Kansas, northwest Germany, southern Brazil, Bangkok, Thailand, and eastern Bolivia. (Photo Credit: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Space Systems, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team)