Optimizing the Water, Energy, and Food Nexus in the Pishkooh Watershed, Yazd Province, Iran
Subject Areas : Optimal management of water and soil resourcesSanaz Pourfallah Asadabadi 1 , Seyed Hamidreza Sadeghi 2 , Mehdi Vafakhah 3 , Majid Delavar 4
1 - Ph.D. Student, Department of Watershed Management, Tarbiat Modares University, Noor, Mazandaran, Iran.
2 - Professor, Department of Watershed Management Engineering, of Tarbiat Modares University, Noor, Mazandaran, Iran.
3 - Professor, Department of Watershed Management Engineering, of Tarbiat Modares University, Noor, Mazandaran, Iran.
4 - Associate Professor, Department of Watershed Management Engineering, of Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Keywords: Integrated Management, Sustainable Production, Soil and water adaptive management, Watershed security,
Abstract :
Background and Aims: Population growth and the need to provide human biological needs, especially in developing countries, have led to unprincipled uses of water and soil resources in this region. The strategy of increasing production with excessive exploitation of resources has faced the country with a severe crisis, especially in water and the environment. On the other hand, improper management of water and soil resources has threatened the water and food security of the country, which is one of the leading national goals. Today, despite the importance of the Water-Energy and Food (WEF) Nexus as adaptive management of resources, it has yet to be employed for integrated watershed management in the Pishkooh Watershed. This research, however, presents a novel approach to optimize the water, energy, and food nexus for the adaptive management of this crucial watershed.
Methods: In this research, to optimize the WEF Nexus of water and energy consumption indicators, productivity and economic productivity of water and energy and food availability per capita in nine farming groups, Viz., 1 (i.e., apple, pear, beet, cherry, plums, peaches, apricots, almonds and walnuts), 2 (i.e., grapes, elderberries, barberries, berries, figs, and jujubes), 3 (i.e., lentils, peas, and beans), 4 (i.e., sunflowers), 5 (i.e., tomatoes, eggplants, carrots, pumpkin and cabbage), 6 (i.e., watermelon), 7 (i.e., alfalfa, turnip and fodder beet), 8 (i.e., wheat, barley and corn), and 9 (i.e., potato and onion). The WEF nexus in the Pishkooh Watershed was optimized using linear programming and through the optimal multivariable model and constraints on the water and energy resources of the watershed in the Lingo 18.0 software environment.
Results: The findings showed that in the Pishkooh Watershed, the third (i.e., lentils, chickpeas, and beans) and the seventh agricultural groups (i.e., alfalfa, turnips, and fodder beets) had the lowest and highest water consumption of 4727.93 and 9787.93 m3 ha y-1. In contrast, the fourth (i.e., sunflower) and fifth agricultural groups (i.e., tomatoes, eggplants, carrots, squash, and cabbage) had the minimum and maximum energy consumption of 7226.87 and 42888.99 MJ ha-1 y-1. While, the water productivity index showed the performance of agricultural groups in relation to the amount of water consumed the fifth (tomato, eggplant, carrot, pumpkin and cabbage) and third (lentil, chickpea and bean) crop groups with 2.66 and 0.28 kg/m3 have the highest and lowest values of the index. The third (i.e., lentils, peas, and beans) and the seventh (i.e., alfalfa, turnips, and fodder beets) agricultural groups had an entirely different energy efficiency of 20.66 and 0.94 kg MJ-1, respectively. Ultimately, the second agricultural group (i.e., grape, elderberry, barberry, mulberry, fig, and jujube) has the highest water economic productivity (i.e., 0.56 MRials m-3) and energy (0.266 MRials MJ-1). However, the eighth agricultural group (i.e., wheat, barley, and corn) in the Pishkooh Watershed plays the most critical role in the per capita food availability index.
Conclusion: This research, with its potential to significantly influence the Pishkooh Watershed, has successfully optimized the WEF Nexus in this region of Iran. After analyzing seven indicators of water and energy consumption, productivity and economic efficiency of water and energy, and food availability per capita in the study area, the results demonstrated that the WEF index in the Pishkoosh Watershed ranged from 0.18 (the worst) to 0.48 (the best) associated with the fifth (i.e., tomato, eggplant, carrot, pumpkin and cabbage) and second crop (i.e., elder, barberry, mulberry, fig and jujube), respectively. By implementing the WEF optimization model in the Pishkooh Watershed, we can take a positive stride towards increasing productivity and reducing resource consumption every year by monitoring relevant indicators. This approach will alleviate the strain on existing resources and pave the way for sustainability and ecosystem conservation. On the other hand, improving the economic status of farmers by changing the cultivation pattern will ensure the sustainability of the supply chain of agricultural products and increase food security in the Pishkoh Watershed. In other words, the management of different dimensions of the WEF index can provide suitable solutions to achieve the economic sustainability of agriculture in the region.
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