Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 3073–3091, 2015 www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/19/3073/2015/ doi:10.5194/hess-19-3073-2015 © Author(s) 2015. CC Attribution 3.0 License. Water savings potentials of irrigation systems: global simulation of processes and linkages J. Jägermeyr1, D. Gerten1, J. Heinke1,2,3, S. Schaphoff1, M. Kummu4, and W. Lucht1,5 1Research Domain Earth System Analysis, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Telegraphenberg A62, 14473 Potsdam, Germany 2International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, 00100 Kenya 3Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), St. Lucia, QLD 4067, Australia 4Water and Development Research Group, Aalto University, Tietotie 1E, 02150 Espoo, Finland 5Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany Correspondence to: J. Jägermeyr (
[email protected]) Received: 06 March 2015 – Published in Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss.: 01 April 2015 Revised: 15 June 2015 – Accepted: 22 June 2015 – Published: 10 July 2015 Abstract. Global agricultural production is heavily sustained river basins, reduce the non-beneficial consumption at river by irrigation, but irrigation system efficiencies are often sur- basin level by 54 and 76 %, respectively, while maintaining prisingly low. However, our knowledge of irrigation effi- the current level of crop yields. Accordingly, crop water pro- ciencies is mostly confined to rough indicative estimates for ductivity would increase by 9 and 15 %, respectively, and by countries or regions that do not account for spatiotemporal much more in specific regions such as in the Indus basin. heterogeneity due to climate and other biophysical depen- This study significantly advances the global quantification of dencies.