Effect of climate change on land suitability for surface irrigation and irrigation potential of the shallow groundwater in Ghana

Estimating the potential land resources suitable for irrigation and evaluating the possible impact of climate change on land suitability is essential for planning a sustainable agricultural system. This study applied a GIS-based Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) technique to evaluate the suitability o...

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Main Authors: Worqlul, Abeyou W., Dile, Y.T., Jeong, J., Adimassu, Zenebe, Lefore, Nicole, Gerik, T., Srinivasan, R., Clarke, N.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99287
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author Worqlul, Abeyou W.
Dile, Y.T.
Jeong, J.
Adimassu, Zenebe
Lefore, Nicole
Gerik, T.
Srinivasan, R.
Clarke, N.
author_browse Adimassu, Zenebe
Clarke, N.
Dile, Y.T.
Gerik, T.
Jeong, J.
Lefore, Nicole
Srinivasan, R.
Worqlul, Abeyou W.
author_facet Worqlul, Abeyou W.
Dile, Y.T.
Jeong, J.
Adimassu, Zenebe
Lefore, Nicole
Gerik, T.
Srinivasan, R.
Clarke, N.
author_sort Worqlul, Abeyou W.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Estimating the potential land resources suitable for irrigation and evaluating the possible impact of climate change on land suitability is essential for planning a sustainable agricultural system. This study applied a GIS-based Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) technique to evaluate the suitability of land for irrigation in Ghana for a baseline period (1990 to 2010) and future time horizons 2050s (2041 to 2060) and 2070s (2061 to 2080). Key factors considered to evaluate the suitability of the land for irrigation include biophysical features (such as climate, land use, soil, and slope) and socioeconomic factors (such as proximity to roads and population density). These factors were weighted using a pairwise comparison matrix then reclassified and overlaid on a 30 m grid to estimate the irrigation potential of the country. Groundwater data from the British Geological Survey (BGS) were superimposed onto the land suitability map layer to evaluate the irrigation potential and the accessibility of shallow groundwater with simple water lifting technologies. Downscaled and bias-corrected future climate data from HadGEM2-ES under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 emission scenario were used to represent the future climate horizon. Due to climate change, on average, rainfall will increase by 15 mm and 20 mm from the baseline period in the 2050s and 2070s, respectively. The average temperature shows a consistent increase in the majority of Ghana and a higher rate of increase is expected in the 2070s. Consequently, the rising temperature will increase the potential evapotranspiration by 6.0% and 7.6% in the 2050s and 2070s, respectively. The suitability analysis indicates that approximately 9% of the country is suitable for surface irrigation under the baseline period. A large portion of the potential land is located in the southwestern part of the country. The potential suitable land has an average groundwater access of 12 m from the surface with an average borehole potential yield of 2.5 L/second, which makes it favorable for utilization of simple water lifting technologies. Due to climate change, 9.5% of the suitable land will become unfavorable for irrigation in 2050s, and it is expected to reach 17% in 2070s.
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spelling CGSpace992872025-03-11T09:50:20Z Effect of climate change on land suitability for surface irrigation and irrigation potential of the shallow groundwater in Ghana Worqlul, Abeyou W. Dile, Y.T. Jeong, J. Adimassu, Zenebe Lefore, Nicole Gerik, T. Srinivasan, R. Clarke, N. climate change land suitability land use irrigation methods surface irrigation groundwater water resources surface water gis slope soil socioeconomic environment population density rainfall temperature evapotranspiration Estimating the potential land resources suitable for irrigation and evaluating the possible impact of climate change on land suitability is essential for planning a sustainable agricultural system. This study applied a GIS-based Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) technique to evaluate the suitability of land for irrigation in Ghana for a baseline period (1990 to 2010) and future time horizons 2050s (2041 to 2060) and 2070s (2061 to 2080). Key factors considered to evaluate the suitability of the land for irrigation include biophysical features (such as climate, land use, soil, and slope) and socioeconomic factors (such as proximity to roads and population density). These factors were weighted using a pairwise comparison matrix then reclassified and overlaid on a 30 m grid to estimate the irrigation potential of the country. Groundwater data from the British Geological Survey (BGS) were superimposed onto the land suitability map layer to evaluate the irrigation potential and the accessibility of shallow groundwater with simple water lifting technologies. Downscaled and bias-corrected future climate data from HadGEM2-ES under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 emission scenario were used to represent the future climate horizon. Due to climate change, on average, rainfall will increase by 15 mm and 20 mm from the baseline period in the 2050s and 2070s, respectively. The average temperature shows a consistent increase in the majority of Ghana and a higher rate of increase is expected in the 2070s. Consequently, the rising temperature will increase the potential evapotranspiration by 6.0% and 7.6% in the 2050s and 2070s, respectively. The suitability analysis indicates that approximately 9% of the country is suitable for surface irrigation under the baseline period. A large portion of the potential land is located in the southwestern part of the country. The potential suitable land has an average groundwater access of 12 m from the surface with an average borehole potential yield of 2.5 L/second, which makes it favorable for utilization of simple water lifting technologies. Due to climate change, 9.5% of the suitable land will become unfavorable for irrigation in 2050s, and it is expected to reach 17% in 2070s. 2019-02 2019-02-05T04:11:17Z 2019-02-05T04:11:17Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99287 en Open Access Elsevier Worqlul, A. W.; Dile, Y. T.; Jeong, J.; Adimassu, Zenebe; Lefore, Nicole; Gerik, T.; Srinivasan, R.; Clarke, N. 2019. Effect of climate change on land suitability for surface irrigation and irrigation potential of the shallow groundwater in Ghana. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 157: 110-125. doi: 10.1016/j.compag.2018.12.040
spellingShingle climate change
land suitability
land use
irrigation methods
surface irrigation
groundwater
water resources
surface water
gis
slope
soil
socioeconomic environment
population density
rainfall
temperature
evapotranspiration
Worqlul, Abeyou W.
Dile, Y.T.
Jeong, J.
Adimassu, Zenebe
Lefore, Nicole
Gerik, T.
Srinivasan, R.
Clarke, N.
Effect of climate change on land suitability for surface irrigation and irrigation potential of the shallow groundwater in Ghana
title Effect of climate change on land suitability for surface irrigation and irrigation potential of the shallow groundwater in Ghana
title_full Effect of climate change on land suitability for surface irrigation and irrigation potential of the shallow groundwater in Ghana
title_fullStr Effect of climate change on land suitability for surface irrigation and irrigation potential of the shallow groundwater in Ghana
title_full_unstemmed Effect of climate change on land suitability for surface irrigation and irrigation potential of the shallow groundwater in Ghana
title_short Effect of climate change on land suitability for surface irrigation and irrigation potential of the shallow groundwater in Ghana
title_sort effect of climate change on land suitability for surface irrigation and irrigation potential of the shallow groundwater in ghana
topic climate change
land suitability
land use
irrigation methods
surface irrigation
groundwater
water resources
surface water
gis
slope
soil
socioeconomic environment
population density
rainfall
temperature
evapotranspiration
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99287
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