Water management optimization in agriculture: a digital model development

Water scarcity is one of 21st century’s most pressing global issues. The anthropogenic pressure and climate change will be the main drivers of freshwater depletion in the coming decades. According to the FAO, the amount of water needed to support all human activities will be 20–30% higher by 2050. A...

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Autores principales: Preite, L., Solari, F., Vignali, G.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2025
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173919
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author Preite, L.
Solari, F.
Vignali, G.
author_browse Preite, L.
Solari, F.
Vignali, G.
author_facet Preite, L.
Solari, F.
Vignali, G.
author_sort Preite, L.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Water scarcity is one of 21st century’s most pressing global issues. The anthropogenic pressure and climate change will be the main drivers of freshwater depletion in the coming decades. According to the FAO, the amount of water needed to support all human activities will be 20–30% higher by 2050. A closer look reveals how agriculture is a major contributor to water scarcity, with irrigation accounting for 70% of global water use. In this framework, the development of effective water management approaches is a key solution to turn the tide and change current patterns. Despite that, there still exists a gap in the scientific literature in the development and validation of innovative water management strategies using advanced technologies. This study aims to address this gap by developing a digital model of a real irrigation network able to accurately predict the water distribution across the network at different operating conditions. A living lab was used for the experimental activities, where a low-power wide-area network was used to acquire data from the system. For modeling purposes, the integration of the 1-D and 3-D simulation was leveraged to fluid-dynamically characterize all the components involved. The numerical model resulted to be accurate in predicting both pressure and velocity patterns (determination coefficient higher than 93%). The proposed model could be considered a starting point for the implementation of a digital twin to support agricultural water management in both the design and management of an irrigation network by defining the correct network configuration and detect anomalous conditions.
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spelling CGSpace1739192025-10-26T13:01:54Z Water management optimization in agriculture: a digital model development Preite, L. Solari, F. Vignali, G. Water scarcity is one of 21st century’s most pressing global issues. The anthropogenic pressure and climate change will be the main drivers of freshwater depletion in the coming decades. According to the FAO, the amount of water needed to support all human activities will be 20–30% higher by 2050. A closer look reveals how agriculture is a major contributor to water scarcity, with irrigation accounting for 70% of global water use. In this framework, the development of effective water management approaches is a key solution to turn the tide and change current patterns. Despite that, there still exists a gap in the scientific literature in the development and validation of innovative water management strategies using advanced technologies. This study aims to address this gap by developing a digital model of a real irrigation network able to accurately predict the water distribution across the network at different operating conditions. A living lab was used for the experimental activities, where a low-power wide-area network was used to acquire data from the system. For modeling purposes, the integration of the 1-D and 3-D simulation was leveraged to fluid-dynamically characterize all the components involved. The numerical model resulted to be accurate in predicting both pressure and velocity patterns (determination coefficient higher than 93%). The proposed model could be considered a starting point for the implementation of a digital twin to support agricultural water management in both the design and management of an irrigation network by defining the correct network configuration and detect anomalous conditions. 2025-02 2025-03-28T10:33:58Z 2025-03-28T10:33:58Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173919 en Open Access Preite, L.; Solari, F.; Vignali, G. 2025. Water management optimization in agriculture: a digital model development. Water Resources Management, 39(3):1261-1279. [doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-024-04030-4]
spellingShingle Preite, L.
Solari, F.
Vignali, G.
Water management optimization in agriculture: a digital model development
title Water management optimization in agriculture: a digital model development
title_full Water management optimization in agriculture: a digital model development
title_fullStr Water management optimization in agriculture: a digital model development
title_full_unstemmed Water management optimization in agriculture: a digital model development
title_short Water management optimization in agriculture: a digital model development
title_sort water management optimization in agriculture a digital model development
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173919
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