Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques for Assessing Irrigation Performance: Case Study in Southern California
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 6
Abstract
This paper presents the potential of remotely sensed data in addressing spatially distributed irrigation equity, adequacy, and sustainability. The surface energy balance algorithm for land (SEBAL) was implemented to map actual evapotranspiration (ET) over an irrigation district in southern California. Potential ET was also mapped based on the Priestley–Taylor method, modified to account for the effect of horizontally transported energy on enhancing/suppressing ET. Remotely sensed products were integrated with ground-based data in a Geographical Information System (GIS) environment to quantify several irrigation and drainage performance indicators. The among- and within-field coefficients of variation of actual ET were comparable to previous studies, suggesting that water consumption was uniform across the irrigation district. The relative ET was high, indicating that irrigation supply was adequate. The extensive network of open drains was also found to be functioning at an optimal level according to the results of two performance indicators based on the magnitude and uniformity of groundwater depth.
Formats available
You can view the full content in the following formats:
Acknowledgments
This research was funded in part by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation under a contract with the Alliance of Universities with a subcontract to Utah State University. Additional funding was provided by Utah Agricultural Experiment Station and the Remote Sensing Services Laboratory, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Utah State University. The authors would like to express their appreciation to Mr. Roger Henning and Ms. Paula Hayden (chief engineer and staff of PVID) for kindly providing us with their databases, and for their valuable comments on the results.
References
Ahadi, R., Samani, Z., and Skaggs, R. (2013). “Evaluating on-farm irrigation efficiency across the watershed: A case study of New Mexico’s Lower Rio Grande Basin.” Agric. Water Manage., 124, 52–57.
Ahmad, M. U. D., Turral, H., and Nazeer, A. (2009). “Diagnosing irrigation performance and water productivity through satellite remote sensing and secondary data in a large irrigation system of Pakistan.” Agric. Water Manage., 96(4), 551–564.
Allen, R. G., et al. (2007a). “Satellite-based energy balance for mapping evapotranspiration with internalized calibration (METRIC)—Applications.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 395–406.
Allen, R. G., Pereira, L. S., Raes, D., and Smith, M. (1998). “Crop evapotranspiration—Guidelines for computing crop water requirements.”, FAO, Rome.
Allen, R. G., Tasumi, M., and Trezza, R. (2007b). “Satellite-based energy balance for mapping evapotranspiration with internalized calibration (METRIC)—Model.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 380–394.
Ambast, S. K., Keshari, A. K., and Gosain, A. K. (2002). “Satellite remote sensing to support management of irrigation systems: Concepts and approaches.” Irrig. Drain., 51(1), 25–39.
ArcGIS version 10 [Computer software]. ESRI, Redlands, CA.
Bandara, K. M. P. S. (2003). “Monitoring irrigation performance in Sri Lanka with high-frequency satellite measurements during the dry season.” Agric. Water Manage., 58(2), 159–170.
Bastiaanssen, W. G. M., et al. (1998a). “A remote sensing surface energy balance algorithm for land (SEBAL). 2: Validation.” J. Hydrol., 212, 213–229.
Bastiaanssen, W. G. M., and Bos, M. G. (1999). “Irrigation performance indicators based on remotely sensed data: A review of literature.” Irrig. Drain. Syst., 13(4), 291–311.
Bastiaanssen, W. G. M., Brito, R. A. L., Bos, M. G., Souza, R. A., Cavalcanti, E. B., and Bakker, M. M. (2001). “Low cost satellite data for monthly irrigation performance monitoring: Benchmarks from Nilo Coelho, Brazil.” Irrig. Drain. Syst., 15(1), 53–79.
Bastiaanssen, W. G. M., Menenti, M., Feddes, R. A., and Holtslag, A. A. M. (1998b). “A remote sensing surface energy balance algorithm for land (SEBAL). 1: Formulation.” J. Hydrol., 212, 198–212.
Bastiaanssen, W. G. M., Molden, D. J., and Makin, I. W. (2000). “Remote sensing for irrigated agriculture: Examples from research and possible applications.” Agric. Water Manage., 46(2), 137–155.
Bastiaanssen, W. G. M., Noordman, E. J. M., Pelgrum, H., Davids, G., Thoreson, B. P., and Allen, R. G. (2005). “SEBAL model with remotely sensed data to improve water-resources management under actual field conditions.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 85–93.
Bastiaanssen, W. G. M., Van der Wal, T., and Visser, T. N. M. (1996). “Diagnosis of regional evaporation by remote sensing to support irrigation performance assessment.” Irrig. Drain. Syst., 10(1), 1–23.
Bos, M. G. (1997). “Performance indicators for irrigation and drainage.” Irrig. Drain. Syst., 11(2), 119–137.
Bos, M. G., Burton, M. A., and Molden, D. J. (2005). Irrigation and drainage performance assessment: Practical guidelines, Cabi Publishing, Wallingford, U.K.
Brutsaert, W., and Sugita, M. (1992). “Application of self-preservation in the diurnal evolution of the surface energy budget to determine daily evaporation.” J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 97(D17), 18377–18382.
Chávez, J. L., Neale, C. M., Prueger, J. H., and Kustas, W. P. (2008). “Daily evapotranspiration estimates from extrapolating instantaneous airborne remote sensing ET values.” Irrig. Sci., 27(1), 67–81.
Colaizzi, P. D., Evett, S. R., Howell, T. A., and Tolk, J. A. (2006). “Comparison of five models to scale daily evapotranspiration from one-time-of-day measurements.” Trans. ASAE, 49(5), 1409–1417.
Conrad, C., Dech, S. W., Hafeez, M., Lamers, J. P. A., and Tischbein, B. (2013). “Remote sensing and hydrological measurement based irrigation performance assessments in the upper Amu Darya Delta, Central Asia.” Phys. Chem. Earth, Parts A/B/C, 61, 52–62.
Crago, R. D. (1996). “Conservation and variability of the evaporative fraction during the daytime.” J. Hydrol., 180(1–4), 173–194.
Diaz-Espejo, A., Verhoef, A., and Knight, R. (2005). “Illustration of micro-scale advection using grid-pattern mini-lysimeters.” Agric. For. Meteorol., 129(1), 39–52.
Droogers, P., and Bastiaanssen, W. G. M. (2002). “Irrigation performance using hydrological and remote sensing modeling.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 11–18.
Faci, J., Aragüeś, R., Alberto, F., Quilez, D., Machin, J., and Arrue, J. L. (1985). “Water and salt balance in an irrigated area of the Ebro River Basin (Spain).” Irrig. Sci., 6(1), 29–37.
Glenn, E. P., Huete, A. R., Nagler, P. L., Hirschboeck, K. K., and Brown, P. (2007). “Integrating remote sensing and ground methods to estimate evapotranspiration.” Crit. Rev. Plant Sci., 26(3), 139–168.
Gowda, P. H., Chávez, J. L., Colaizzi, P. D., Evett, S. R., Howell, T. A., and Tolk, J. A. (2008). “ET mapping for agricultural water management: Present status and challenges.” Irrig. Sci., 26(3), 223–237.
Huete, A. R. (1988). “A soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI).” Remote Sens. Environ., 25(3), 295–309.
Hutson, S. S., Barber, N. L., Kenny, J. F., Linsey, K. S., Lumia, D. S., and Maupin, M. A. (2004). “Estimated use of water in the United States in 2000.” U.S. Geological Survey Circular, Reston, VA.
Isidoro, D., Quılez, D., and Aragüés, R. (2004). “Water balance and irrigation performance analysis: La Violada irrigation district (Spain) as a case study.” Agric. Water Manage., 64(2), 123–142.
Jensen, M. E. (2007). “Beyond irrigation efficiency.” Irrig. Sci., 25(3), 233–245.
Karatas, B. S., Akkuzu, E., Unal, H. B., Asik, S., and Avci, M. (2009). “Using satellite remote sensing to assess irrigation performance in Water User Associations in the Lower Gediz Basin, Turkey.” Agric. Water Manage., 96(6), 982–990.
Khan, S., Tariq, R., Yuanlai, C., and Blackwell, J. (2006). “Can irrigation be sustainable?” Agric. Water Manage., 80(1), 87–99.
Kharrou, M. H., et al. (2013). “Assessment of equity and adequacy of water delivery in irrigation systems using remote sensing-based indicators in semi-arid region, Morocco.” Water Resour. Manage., 27(13), 4697–4714.
Li, L., and Yu, Q. (2007). “Quantifying the effects of advection on canopy energy budgets and water use efficiency in an irrigated wheat field in the North China Plain.” Agric. Water Manage., 89(1), 116–122.
Marlet, S., Bouksila, F., and Bahri, A. (2009). “Water and salt balance at irrigation scheme scale: A comprehensive approach for salinity assessment in a Saharan oasis.” Agric. Water Manage., 96(9), 1311–1322.
Molden, D. J., and Gates, T. K. (1990). “Performance measures for evaluation of irrigation-water-delivery systems.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 804–823.
Pereira, A. R., and Nova, N. A. V. (1992). “Analysis of the Priestley-Taylor parameter.” Agric. For. Meteorol., 61(1–2), 1–9.
Priestley, C. H. B., and Taylor, R. J. (1972). “On the assessment of surface heat flux and evaporation using large-scale parameters.” Mon. Weather Rev., 100(2), 81–92.
Ramos, J. G., Cratchley, C. R., Kay, J. A., Casterad, M. A., Martínez-Cob, A., and Dominguez, R. (2009). “Evaluation of satellite evapotranspiration estimates using ground-meteorological data available for the Flumen district into the Ebro Valley of NE Spain.” Agric. Water Manage., 96(4), 638–652.
Roerink, G. J., Bastiaanssen, W. G. M., Chambouleyron, J., and Menenti, M. (1997). “Relating crop water consumption to irrigation water supply by remote sensing.” Water Resour. Manage., 11(6), 445–465.
Romero, M. G. (2004). “Daily evapotranspiration estimation by means of evaporative fraction and reference evapotranspiration fraction.” Ph.D. dissertation, Utah State Univ., Logan, UT, 194.
Santos, C., Lorite, I. J., Tasumi, M., Allen, R. G., and Fereres, E. (2008). “Integrating satellite-based evapotranspiration with simulation models for irrigation management at the scheme level.” Irrig. Sci., 26(3), 277–288.
Taghvaeian, S., and Neale, C. M. (2011). “Water balance of irrigated areas: A remote sensing approach.” Hydrol. Processes, 25(26), 4132–4141.
Teixeira, A. D. C., et al. (2008). “Energy and water balance measurements for water productivity analysis in irrigated mango trees, northeast Brazil.” Agric. For. Meteorol., 148(10), 1524–1537.
Trezza, R. (2002). “Evapotranspiration using a satellite-based surface energy balance with standardized ground control.” Ph.D. dissertation, Utah State Univ., Logan, UT, 339.
USGS. (2010a). “Global visualization (GloVis) viewer.” U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Reston, VA.
USGS. (2010b). “Lower Colorado river monthly data reports.” U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Reston, VA.
Zhang, L., and Lemeur, R. (1995). “Evaluation of daily evapotranspiration estimates from instantaneous measurements.” Agric. For. Meteorol., 74(1), 139–154.
Zwart, S. J., and Leclert, L. M. (2010). “A remote sensing-based irrigation performance assessment: A case study of the Office du Niger in Mali.” Irrig. Sci., 28(5), 371–385.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 6 • June 2018
Copyright
This work is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
History
Received: Aug 30, 2017
Accepted: Dec 29, 2017
Published online: Apr 10, 2018
Published in print: Jun 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Sep 10, 2018
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.