The european project LIFE+ TRUST focuses on identifying adaptation measures to mitigate the impacts of climate change on the groundwater of the Upper Plain in the Veneto and Friuli regions in North-Eastern Italy. One of the specific objectives of the project is the evaluation of irrigation water deficit affecting summer crops and its evolution due to climate change. This paper reviews the development and application of an innovative model that simulates water circulation in cultivated soils to estimate water deficit, using agronomic and climatic real data. Irrigated crops mapping has been performed through Remote Sensing identification methods. Water balance has been calculated at five-days temporal resolution using a GIS. Average irrigation water deficit in the study area has been estimated between 100 and 200 mm. Projections on the water deficit as a function of climate change have used future precipitation and evapo-transpiration patterns derived from climate simulations (IPCC scenarios) for the Mediterranean region for the 20th and 21st centuries. The average irrigation water deficit for the future scenario has been estimated at approximately 400 mm.
Bisaglia, M; Cappelletto, M; Pasini, S; Cimolino, A; Baruffi, F; Galli, A; Marsala, V; Scarinci, A; Gualdi, S; Bucchignani, E; Zandonella, A
Implementation of a model for estimating the summer irrigation deficit in the upper plains of the Veneto and Friuli regions and and first application in adaptation to climate change
Italian Journal Of Agrometeorology-Rivista Italiana Di Agrometeorologia