The MEDWATERICE project: Towards a sustainable water use in Mediterranean rice-based agro-ecosystems
Abstract
Data di Pubblicazione:
2021
Citazione:
The MEDWATERICE project: Towards a sustainable water use in Mediterranean rice-based agro-ecosystems / A. Facchi, O. Gharsallah, M. Romani, A. Ricciardelli, M. Trevisan, F. Ferrari, A. Tediosi, S.M.M. Shebl, A.A. Aboukheira, F. Ramirez de Cartagena, J. Pinsach Boada, G. Arbat, L. Mateos, H. Gómez-Macpherson, C. Mira, R. Yonai, R. Sabarinathan, J.M. Gonçalves, M. Nunes, I. de Lima, R.G. Jorge, M. Enginsu, R. Unan. - In: GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH ABSTRACTS. - ISSN 1607-7962. - 2021:(2021), pp. HS8.3.4].1-HS8.3.4].1. (Intervento presentato al convegno EGU General Assembly 2021) [10.5194/egusphere-egu21-10369].
Abstract:
In the Mediterranean basin, rice is cultivated over an area of 1,300,000 hectares. The most
important rice-producing countries are Italy and Spain in Europe (72% of the EU production;
345,000 ha), and Egypt and Turkey among the extra-EU countries (almost totality of the
production; 789,000 ha). Traditionally, rice is grown under continuous flooding; thus, it requires
more water than non-ponded crops. On the other hand, rice is strategic for food security in some
countries such as Egypt, and human consumption in the whole Mediterranean is steadily
increasing.
The MEDWATERICE project (PRIMA-Section 2-2018; https://www.medwaterice.org/), which started
in April 2019, aims to explore the sustainability of innovative rice irrigation methods and
technologies in the Mediterranean basin, in order to reduce rice water use and environmental
impacts, and to extend rice cultivation outside of traditional paddy areas to meet the growing
demand. The MEDWATERICE consortium includes universities, research centres and private
companies operating in the Mediterranean area (IT, ES, PT, EG, TR, IL). Case studies (CSs) are
implemented in pilot farms of the countries involved in the project. Tested alternative irrigation
methods and technologies adopted in each CS are being tailored to local conditions using a
participatory action research approach through the establishment of Stake-Holder Panels in each
country, which include regional authorities, water managers, farmers’ associations and
consultants, and private companies of the rice production chain. Irrigation strategies
experimented in the pilot farms and compared to the continuous flooding (considered as the
‘reference’ irrigation method in all CSs), are: dry seeding and delayed flooding, alternate wetting
and drying, lengthening of drying periods, reduction in irrigation inflow/outflow, hybrid irrigation,
multi-nozzle sprinkler irrigation, surface and sub-surface drip irrigation, and waste-water reuse
through sub-surface drip irrigation. For each irrigation solution, innovative technologies and the
most appropriate rice varieties and agronomic practices are tested to minimize impacts of
irrigation water reduction on yield quantity and quality. Data collected at the farm level are
extrapolated to the irrigation district level to support water management decisions and policies.
Indicators for quantitative assessment of environmental, economic and social sustainability of the
irrigation options are also being defined. Outcomes produced by MEDWATERICE are expected to
generate knowledge on how to improve sustainability of rice production in the countries of the
Mediterranean area, with particular attention to the adoption of water-saving techniques.
During the conference, approaches and methodologies adopted and developed within the project,
and results obtained so far will be presented, with particular attention to the experimentation
conducted in the pilot farms, to the methods for the upscaling the achievements to the irrigation
district scale, and to the set of indicators for quantifying economic, environmental and social
sustainability of irrigation methods and technologies currently under definition.
Tipologia IRIS:
01 - Articolo su periodico
Elenco autori:
A. Facchi, O. Gharsallah, M. Romani, A. Ricciardelli, M. Trevisan, F. Ferrari, A. Tediosi, S.M.M. Shebl, A.A. Aboukheira, F. Ramirez de Cartagena, J. Pinsach Boada, G. Arbat, L. Mateos, H. Gómez-Macpherson, C. Mira, R. Yonai, R. Sabarinathan, J.M. Gonçalves, M. Nunes, I. de Lima, R.G. Jorge, M. Enginsu, R. Unan
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