Version 1
: Received: 18 July 2024 / Approved: 18 July 2024 / Online: 19 July 2024 (10:05:24 CEST)
How to cite:
Moral, F. J.; Rebollo, F. J.; García-Martín, A.; Paniagua, L. L.; Honorio, F. Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Water Resources in the Olive-Growing Areas of Extremadura, Southwestern Spain. Preprints2024, 2024071563. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.1563.v1
Moral, F. J.; Rebollo, F. J.; García-Martín, A.; Paniagua, L. L.; Honorio, F. Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Water Resources in the Olive-Growing Areas of Extremadura, Southwestern Spain. Preprints 2024, 2024071563. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.1563.v1
Moral, F. J.; Rebollo, F. J.; García-Martín, A.; Paniagua, L. L.; Honorio, F. Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Water Resources in the Olive-Growing Areas of Extremadura, Southwestern Spain. Preprints2024, 2024071563. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.1563.v1
APA Style
Moral, F. J., Rebollo, F. J., García-Martín, A., Paniagua, L. L., & Honorio, F. (2024). Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Water Resources in the Olive-Growing Areas of Extremadura, Southwestern Spain. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.1563.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Moral, F. J., Luis L. Paniagua and Fulgencio Honorio. 2024 "Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Water Resources in the Olive-Growing Areas of Extremadura, Southwestern Spain" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.1563.v1
Abstract
The increasing variability of precipitation, higher temperatures and recurring droughts in the semi-arid regions due to climate change are leading to increased aridity, resulting in scarcer water resources for crops. The present study aimed to analyse the spatial distribution of climate variables related to water resources in the olive-growing areas throughout Extremadura, southwestern Spain. To perform this task, three climate variables were used: potential evapotranspiration of the crop, the FAO aridity index and the annual water requirement. Considering data from 58 weather stations located throughout Extremadura and 17 along boundaries with at least 30-year length (within the 1991-2021 period), each variable was computed at each station. After calculating some descriptive statistics, a multivariate geostatistical (regression-kriging) algorithm, incorporating secondary information on elevation and latitude, was used to accurately map each climate variable. Later, temporal trends and their magnitude were analysed using the Mann-Kendall test and the Sen’s estimator, respectively. The highest evapotranspiration and water requirements are located in the southern part of the region, which has large areas dedicated to olive cultivation. In the northern part of the region, there is greater spatial variability in evapotranspiration and, consequently, in water requirements for olive groves due to the more rugged topography. Similarly, the olive-growing areas with the highest aridity are also in the south of Extremadura. In most areas of Extremadura, olive cultivation requires appropriate irrigation for optimal productivity. According to evapotranspiration trends, the water requirements will become greater in the future. However, it is not guaranteed that the water supply will be sufficient in olive-growing areas where aridity is higher and water resources are scarce. The results of this study are very important for evaluating water deficit and water resources in vulnerable olive-growing areas throughout Extremadura.
Keywords
Olive; Semi-arid lands; Extremadura; Water requirement
Subject
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Waste Management and Disposal
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
