Estación Experimental de Aula Dei Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Consejo Superior de Agroalimentaria de Aragón Investigaciones Científicas (Gobierno de Aragón) Departamento de Suelo y Agua Unidad de Suelos y Riegos Apdo. Correos 13.034 Avenida de Montañana 930 50080 Zaragoza (España) 50059 Zaragoza (España) http://www.eead.csic.es/ http://www.cita-aragon.es/ http://www.grupo-rama.es
Irrigation, Agronomy and the
Environment Research Group
Problem-oriented research on the
soil-water-crop-atmosphere interface
from the perspective of
irrigated agriculture
Berrueco
Ojos de la laguna Tornos Las Cuerlas
Los Lagunazos de Tornos Bello 0 1 2 3 km
Year 2012
1 Background, objectives and research activities
Our Group, originated in the Aula Dei Campus (Zaragoza, Spain) in 1980, integrates researchers from two public research institutions: CSIC (Spanish Council for Scientific Research) and CITA (Agrifood
Research and Technology Centre of Aragón). The general objective of the Group is to generate new scientific and technological information on the soil-water-crop-atmosphere interface leading to more competitive, efficient and sustainable irrigated agriculture.
The Group is presently composed of 12 staff researchers, 4 post- docs, 9 staff technicians, 9 project technicians, and 11 PhD students, for a total of 45 people.
In the last five years (2007-2011) the group has published 112 papers in journals indexed in the Web of Science (90% of them in the first quartile). Our scientific production corresponds to more than 10 % of the total Spanish publications in our area and 2 % of the European publications. The problem-oriented and technology focus are supported by the number of technical publications (87) and dissemination activities (147) in this period.
The Group carries out its activities in the areas of:
Sustainable use of water and soil resources: o Evapotranspiration and crop water requirements
o Diagnosis / improvement of on-farm irrigation systems,
irrigation conveyance networks and collective irrigation
management
o Soil morphology, mapping and evaluation Environmental impact of agricultural activities: o Environmental impact of irrigation on soils o Environmental impact of irrigation on waters o Analysis of relevant habitats in agricultural areas
Crop agronomy: o Crop responses to abiotic stresses (water, salts)
o Optimization of nitrogen fertilization
o Use of pig slurry as fertilizer
o Agronomic applications of remote sensing technologies
2 Key Personnel (staff researchers) E-mail ARAGÜÉS, Ramón (PhD Chemistry) raragues@aragon.es BURGUETE, Javier (PhD Physics) [email protected] CASTERAD, Mª Auxiliadora (PhD Agriculture) [email protected] CAVERO, José (PhD Agriculture) [email protected] FACI, José María (PhD Agriculture) [email protected] HERRERO, Juan (PhD Geology) [email protected] ISIDORO, Daniel (PhD Agriculture) [email protected] ISLA, Ramón (PhD Agriculture) [email protected] MARTÍNEZ-COB, Antonio (PhD Chemistry) [email protected] PLAYÁN, Enrique (PhD Agriculture) [email protected] QUÍLEZ, Dolores (PhD Physics) [email protected] ZAPATA, Nery (PhD Agriculture) [email protected]
Selected relevant international and national research projects
Financial Reference Title Institution INCO-CT-2005- QUALIWATER, Diagnosis and control of 015031 salinity and nitrate pollution in Mediterranean irrigated agriculture. INCO-DEV-2005-3- BIOSAFOR, Biosaline agroforestry: 032502 remediation of saline wastelands through European production of renewable energy, Commission biomaterials and fodder COROADO Technologies for water recycling FP7 - ENV. 2011.- and reuse in a Latin American context: 283025 assessment, decision tools and implemental strategies under an uncertain future. Spanish Ministry Integral saving program and productivity CONSOLIDER- of Economy and improvement of irrigation water in Spanish CSD2006- 00067 Competitiveness horticulture (RIDECO) Agronomic strategies to optimize corn AGL2009-12897 nitrogen use in sprinkler irrigation systems Soils, vegetation and remote sensing of AGL2009-08931 saline wetlands in its agricultural environments
3 Sprinkler irrigation: water application, AGL2010-21681 agronomy and return flows Survey of soil salinity in the middle Ebro basin and design of its spatial and temporal RTA2008-00083 monitoring using territorial information technologies Fertilization with livestock products: RTA2010-00126 agronomic and environmental assessment Generation of a software tool for the optimal BIA2011-30192 control of gates in canal networks for irrigation systems Environmental impact assessment of 2007-2012 agricultural activities in different Ebro river Agreements Ebro River Basin basin irrigation systems Authority Impact of irrigation modernization in the Ebro 2007 TRAGSATEC river basin: effects on water quantity and -contract nº 5709 quality. Phase I - Conceptual Analysis 2005-2008 SIRASA Ador V2.0: first and second parts Contract Regional water management in agriculture 2010-2012 Young ARAID combining the ADOR system with remote Researchers sensing techniques Control of the environmental quality of the La Caixa / DGA Caixa-CGRAA irrigation return flows in the General Agreement Community Riegos del Alto Aragon
Technological resources / milestones
• Field equipment - Irrigated farm ready for agronomic experimental studies - Two high-accuracy weighing lysimeters for evapotranspiration measurements - Experimental plot with 24 drainage lysimeters for irrigation and fertilization management studies
• Soil and water physics and chemistry laboratories
• Coupling irrigation system and crop models for the assessment of irrigation planning, for the development of automatic irrigation controllers and for the analysis of regional water use.
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Some recent publications (2010-2012)
2012 BARROS R., ISIDORO D., ARAGÜÉS R. 2012. Three study decades on irrigation performance and salt concentrations and loads in the irrigation return flows of La Violada irrigation district (Spain). Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 151:44-52. CAVERO J., BARROS R., SELLAM F., TOPCU S., ISIDORO D., HARTANI T., LOUNIS A., IBRIKCI H., CETIN M., WILLIAMS J.R., ARAGÜÉS R. 2012. APEX simulation of best irrigation and N management strategies for off-site N pollution control in three Mediterranean irrigated watersheds. Agric. Water Manage. 103:88-99. MORATIEL R., MARTÍNEZ-COB A., 2012. Evapotranspiration of grapevine trained to a gable trellis system under netting and black plastic mulching. Irrig. Sci. 30:167-178. SALMERÓN M., URREGO Y.F., ISLA R., CAVERO J., 2012. Effect of non-uniform sprinkler irrigation and plant density on simulated maize yield. Agric. Water Manage. 113:1-9. SKHIRI A., DECHMI F., 2012. Impact of sprinkler irrigation management on the Del Reguero river (Spain). I: Water balance and irrigation performance and II: Phosphorus mass balance.. Agric. Water Manage. 103:120-129 and 130-139 YAGÜE M.R., QUÍLEZ D., 2012. On-farm measurement of electrical conductivity for the estimation of ammonium N Concentration in pig slurry. J. Environ. Qual. 41:893-900. BAUTISTA-CAPETILLO, C., ZAVALA, M., PLAYÁN, E. 2012. Kinetic energy in sprinkler irrigation: different sources of drop diameter and velocity. Irrig. Sci. 30:29-41. MEES, F., CASTAÑEDA, C., HERRERO, J., VAN RANST, E. 2012. The nature and significance of variations in gypsum crystal morphology in dry lake basins. Journal of Sedimentary Research 82(1): 41-56. MORATIEL R., MARTÍNEZ-COB A. 2012. Evapotranspiration of grapevine trained to a gable trellis system under netting and black plastic mulching. Irrigation Science. 30: 167- 178. STAMBOULI T., ZAPATA N., FACI J.M. 2012. Irrigation patterns and scheduling of a telecontrolled irrigation district in north-eastern Spain. J Irrig Drain Eng ASCE 138 (6): 503-516. 2011 ARAGÜES R., URDANOZ V., ÇETIN M., KIRDA C., DAGHARI H., LTIFI W., LAHLOU M., DOUAIK A., 2011. Soil salinity related to physical soil characteristics and irrigation management in four Mediterranean irrigation districts. Agric. Water Manage. 98:959-966 BARROS R., ISIDORO D., ARAGÜÉS R., 2011. Long-term water balances in La Violada Irrigation District (Spain): I. Sequential assessment of main inputs, outputs and water balance closing errors. Agric. Water Manage. 102: 35-45 CASTAÑEDA C., POURTHIÉ N., SOUYRIS J.C., 2011. Dedicated SAR interferometric analysis to detect subtle deformation in evaporite areas around Zaragoza, NE Spain. Int. J. Remote Sens. 32:1861-1884 CELA S., SALMERÓN M., ISLA R., CAVERO J., SANTIVERI F., LLOVERAS J., 2011. Reduced Nitrogen Fertilization to Corn following Alfalfa in an Irrigated Semiarid Environment. Agron. J., 103(2): 520-528
5 HERRERO J., NETTHISINGHE A., HUDNALL W.H., PÉREZ-COVETA O., 2011. Electromagnetic induction as a basis for soil salinity monitoring in a Mediterranean irrigated district. J. Hydrol. 405:427-438 LECINA S., NEALE C.M.U., MERKLEY G.P., DOS SANTOS C.A.C. 2011. Irrigation evaluation based on performance analysis and water accounting at the Bear River Irrigation Project (U.S.A.). Agric. Water Manage. 98:1349-1363 SALVADOR R., MARTÍNEZ-COB A., CAVERO J., PLAYÁN E., 2011. Seasonal on-farm irrigation performance in the Ebro basin (Spain): crops and irrigation systems. Agric. Water Manage. 98:577-587 SLATNI A., ZAYANI K., ZAIRI A., YACOUBI S., SALVADOR R., PLAYÁN E., 2011. Assessing alternate furrow strategies for potato at the Cherfech irrigation district of Tunisia. Biosyst. Eng., 108:154-163 URDANOZ V., ARAGÜÉS R., 2011. Pre- and post-irrigation mapping of soil salinity with EMI techniques and relationships with drainage water salinity. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 75:207-215 YAGÜE M.R., ANDRASKI T., LABOSKI C.A.M., 2011. Manure composition and incorporation effects on phosphorus in runoff following corn biomass removal. J. Environ. Qual. 40:1-9 2010 ARAGÜES R., GUILLEN M., ROYO A., 2010. Five-year growth and yield response of two olive cultivars (Olea europaea L., cvs. Arbequina and Empeltre) to soil salinity. Plant and Soil 334:423-432 CAMARERO J.J., ALBUIXECH J., LÓPEZ-LOZANO R; CASTERAD M.A. y MONSERRAT-MARTÍ G., 2010. An increase in canopy cover leads to masting in ‘Quercus ilex’. Trees-Structure and Function 25:909 918 ISIDORO D., QUÍLEZ D., ARAGÜÉS R., 2010. Drainage water quality and end-member identification in La Violada irrigation district (Spain). J. Hydrol. 382:154-162 LECINA S., ISIDORO D., PLAYÁN E., ARAGÜÉS R. 2010. Irrigation Modernization and Water Conservation in Spain: The Case of Riegos del Alto Aragón. Agric. Water Manage. 97:1663-1675 MARTÍNEZ-COB, A., FACI, J. M. 2010. Evapotranspiration of hedge-pruned olive orchards in semiarid area of NE Spain. Agric. Water Manage. 97:410-418 SALMERÓN M., CAVERO J., QUÍLEZ D., ISLA R., 2010. Winter cover crops affect monoculture maize yield and nitrogen leaching under irrigated Mediterranean conditions. Agron. J. 102:1700-1709 SÁNCHEZ I., ZAPATA N. and FACI J.M. Combined effect of technical, meteorological and agronomical factors on solid-set sprinkler irrigation. II. Modifications of the wind velocity and of the drops interception plane by the crop canopy. Agric. Wat. Manage 97:1591-1601 VAZQUEZ, R.F., FEYÉN, J. 2010 . Rainfall-runoff modelling of a rocky catchment with limited data availability: Defining prediction limits. J. Hydrol. 387:128-140 YAGÜE M.R; and QUÍLEZ D., 2010 Response of maize yield, nitrate leaching, and soil nitrogen to pig slurry combined with mineral nitrogen. J. Environ. Qual. 39:686-696
6 Personnel
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