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Saving water resources plays an important role in the sustainable utilization of water resources.Based on relevant data of water resources in Zhongshan City from 2000 to 2017,this paper analyzes the sustainable development of water resources in Zhongshan City after carrying out water-saving work by the analysis methods of water ecological footprint and sustainable utilization evaluation.The results show that after the water-saving work was carried out in Zhongshan City in 2011,in overall,the water ecological footprint per capita decreased,the intensity of water resources utilization decreased sharply,the ecological pressure index of water resources reduced,the ecological carrying capacity of water resources per capita increased,and the ecological surplus of water resources per capita increased;with nearly 89% sustainable utilization state of water resources in Zhongshan,water resources have changed from a weak unsustainable state to a weak and medium sustainable state.The level of sustainable utilization of water resources is effectively improved.

To improve the environmental performance of small and medium-sized accommodation enterprises, it is important to understand the factors and motivations that move managers to adopt more efficient technologies and ecologically responsible practices. A sample of 18 independent family-run hotels and campsites were contacted in the mature tourist resort area of the Costa Brava (Spain). The research worked with a combination of surveys and semi-structured interviews directed at top managers. Saving water is revealed as a matter figuring low on the list of priorities of most managers, while competitive advantages and stakeholder pressures appear as less relevant drivers than is posited in most of the scientific literature. We conclude that addressing organizational factors holds more promise in terms of transformative power supporting water conservation than structural or technological changes.

In regions where water is a limited resource, lettuce production can be challenging. To address this, water management strategies like deficit irrigation are used to improve water-use efficiency in agriculture. Associating this strategy with silicon (Si) application could help maintain adequate levels of agricultural production even with limited water availability. Two lettuce crop cycles were conducted in a completely randomized design, with a factorial scheme (2 × 3), with three irrigation levels (60%, 80% and 100%) of crop evapotranspiration (ETc), and with and without Si application. To explore their combined effects, morphological, productive, physiological and nutritional parameters were evaluated in the crops. The results showed that deficit irrigation and Si application had a positive interaction: lettuce yield of the treatment with 80% ETc + Si was statistically similar to 100% ETc without Si in the first cycle, and the treatment with 60% ETc + Si was similar to 100% ETc without Si in the second cycle. Photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, intercellular CO 2 concentration, transpiration rate and total chlorophyll content increased under water-stress conditions with Si application; in the first cycle, the treatment with 80% ETc + Si increased by 30.1%, 31.3%, 7.8%, 28.46% and 50.3% compared to the same treatment without Si, respectively. Si application in conditions of water deficit was also beneficial to obtain a cooler canopy temperature and leaves with higher relative water content. In conclusion, we found that Si applications attenuate water deficit effects and provide a strategy to ameliorate the yield and water productivity in lettuce crops, contributing to more sustainable practices in agriculture.

Seedlings of Chrysalidocarpus lutescens, Dracaena deremensis and Dracaena marginata were grown in plastic containers filled with sphagnum peat-moss to assess the effects of three different water systems on plant growth, water saving and nutrient removal during the experimental period. The experiment lasted for 8 weeks and consisted of three water systems. These consisted of an open draining system fertigated with a standard nutrient solution (system T0) and two closed systems: sequential reuse of the leachate (system T1) and sequential reuse of the leachate with the addition of H2O2 (system T2). Over the course of the experiment, samples of water and supplies generated in each water treatment were collected weekly, and from these data water volume and nutrient loads were calculated. The addition of H2O2 to the leachate resulted in an enhancement in plant dry weight in Dracaena deremensis and Dracaena marginata. Regarding anion loads (Cl−, NO3−, H2PO4−, SO42−) in these water systems, there was a removal rate of 42%, 28%, 27% and 28%, respectively, in the closed systems compared to the open system. For the cation loads (Na+, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+) in these water systems, there was a removal rate from 28% to 29%, respectively, in the closed systems compared to the open system.

Water deficit is a main factor of limiting the growth of plants, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. So this study was conducted in order to assess the influence of applying hydrogel polymers to minimize the negative effects caused by deficit water. Hence, An experimental pots was carried out during 2017 and 2108 seasons at the nursery of Sakha Horticultural Research Station, Horticultural Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center to study the effect of tow irrigation intervals (4 and 8days) and four hydrogel rates (0.0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 % g/g) and their interactions on the growth traits and nutrition status of Conocarpus erectus L. plants as well as some soil properties were investigated. The obtained results point out that, growth parameters (plant height, number of shoots and leaves/plant and stem thickness, shoot fresh and dry weight and total green color) as well as the leaf mineral contents were significantly increased when buttonwood seedlings were watered every four days than when they were watered every eight days in both season. Conversely, leaf proline content was increased under irrigation every 8 days, in addition, adding hydrogel at 0.4 or 0.6 caused a significant increase in the previous growth aspects but decreased leaf proline content compared to the control. Both low irrigation period (4 days) or high of hydrogel rate (0.6% w/w) and their interaction gave the highest values of leaf total and free water contents as well as bound water and osmotic pressure were reduced. Finally, the largest rates of the hydrogel amendment (0.4 and 0.6%) under irrigation every 4 or 8 days extended the loss of soil water, increased the plant ability reflected in the accessible soil water and thus enhanced the growth parameters of the seedlings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims The ability of wheat genotypes to save water by reducing their transpiration rate (TR) at times of the day with high vapour pressure deficit (VPD) has been linked to increasing yields in terminal drought environments. Further, recent evidence shows that reducing nocturnal transpiration (TRN) could amplify water saving. Previous research indicates that such traits involve a root-based hydraulic limitation, but the contribution of hormones, particularly auxin and abscisic acid (ABA), has not been explored to explain the shoot–root link. In this investigation, based on physiological, genetic and molecular evidence gathered on a mapping population, we hypothesized that root auxin accumulation regulates whole-plant water use during both times of the day. Methods Eight double-haploid lines were selected from a mapping population descending from two parents with contrasting water-saving strategies and root hydraulic properties. These spanned the entire range of slopes of TR responses to VPD and TRN encountered in the population. We examined daytime/night-time auxin and ABA contents in the roots and the leaves in relation to hydraulic traits that included whole-plant TR, plant hydraulic conductance (K Plant), slopes of TR responses to VPD and leaf-level anatomical traits. Key Results Root auxin levels were consistently genotype-dependent in this group irrespective of experiments and times of the day. Daytime root auxin concentrations were found to be strongly and negatively correlated with daytime TR, K Plant and the slope of TR response to VPD. Night-time root auxin levels significantly and negatively correlated with TRN. In addition, daytime and night-time leaf auxin and ABA concentrations did not correlate with any of the examined traits. Conclusions The above results indicate that accumulation of auxin in the root system reduces daytime and night-time water use and modulates plant hydraulic properties to enable the expression of water-saving traits that have been associated with enhanced yields under drought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing food demand and decreasing water resources have composed a kind of pressure to find new technologies for efficient use of water and fertilizers in agriculture. Drip irrigation can be able to save irrigation water from 30% up to 50% in case it is properly designed, installed and operated compared to surface irrigation, and it can also enable increasing crop yields and crop quality. In order to get the highest benefits using drip irrigation, some soil data (infiltration rate, soil texture and soil structure), crop characteristics (row space, plant density, canopy cover, root system, crop species, crop variety) and water resources properties (water quality, surface or well water) must be considered in drip system design, management and operation. Fertigation is basically an agricultural technique and application together with water and fertilizer to soil and/or plants. It increases both yield and fertilizer use efficiency; therefore, leaching of nutrients is prevented. In order to utilize fertigation successfully, the four main factors must be considered: (i) the consumption rate of water and nutrients throughout the growth season that result in optimal yields, (ii) response in uptake of different crops to nutrient concentration in the soil and soil solutions, (iii) monitoring for total soil water potential, nutrients concentration in soil solution and % elements in plants as a function of time and (iv) root mass and distribution in the soil for given irrigation regimes and soil types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the significance of the term "green" in the hotel industry, relatively little is known about hotels' performances of conservation management and its impact on guest eco-friendly decision formation. This research was conducted to explicate guests' attitudinal loyalty formation, by developing a sturdy theoretical framework encompassing their perceived hotel performances of green management (recycling and waste reduction, water saving, and energy conservation) and loyalty chain stages theory (cognitive, affective, and conative stages). A total of twelve attributes of hotel performances were identified through a qualitative approach. Our results from the structural analysis revealed that guests' perceived hotel performances of water saving and energy conservation significantly influenced their attitudinal loyalty formation for green hotels. In addition, the significant mediating role of cognitive and affective stages was uncovered. Moreover, the effectiveness of loyalty chain stages theory was demonstrated. Our theoretical framework sufficiently accounted for the variance in conative loyalty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developed nations there is a perception that water is plentiful. Many will turn on their tap without any consideration of their consumption. Such incognizance and the effects of climate change and population growth is jeopardizing water security. There have been suggestions that reductions in consumption will only be sustained if users are continually aware of the benefits, and if billing periods are short to remind consumers of the effects of their behaviour. The study investigated the role of heightened price awareness in efforts to reduce consumption. The evaluation used a pre and post intervention design with two pools of participants. One pool was informed of the price of taking a shower based on Sydney Water's current charge ($2 per kL). The second group was told the price was $6 per kL. The results indicate that after education, participants were encouraged to reduce consumption. The group assuming the higher water rate showed larger reductions. Qualitative analysis showed that over the long term consumption returned to pre-education levels. These findings support suggestions that water agencies should be looking at much more intense communication on the scarcity and real value of water to encourage all consumers to reduce their water use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of SDU Journal of Engineering Sciences & Design / Mühendislik Bilimleri ve Tasarım Dergisi is the property of Journal of Engineering Sciences & Design and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Intensively cultivated rice-wheat cropping sequence of Punjab, India responsible for many sustainability issues viz. declining underground water, declining soil health, arising micronutrient deficiencies etc. Around 1.3 M ha-m additional withdrawal of water from the ground is being taken place annually in Punjab and mainly it is used for the rice crop which is not a traditional crop of the region. Puddling, seepage and percolation losses are the main sources of water loss from the rice based cropping systems in the Indo-Gangetic plains (IGPs) and many Resource Conservation Technologies (RCTs) have been recommended for water saving. The real water saving techniques are those which hinder the water from going into those sinks from where it cannot be reused (Evaporation, E) and diverted greater fraction of water of ET toward transpiration (T) which is desired as greater transpiration, greater the inflow of water and nutrients andwhich ultimately increase the grain yield with the lesser consumption of irrigation water as interval in between two irrigation increases, which further increase the water productivity. Among different RCTs, short duration crop varieties and delaying transplanting time are the real water saving techniques for the regions where water table is already declining down, however other RCTs may be suitable for the regions facing water logging problems as these cut down the drainage losses and these energy saving rather than water saving techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raising temperature and increased drought events induced by a changing climate have increased the need for efficient use of natural resources and energy supplies. Producing sufficient food and fibers for the growing population with changing consumption patterns from ever decreasing resource base requires strategic plans for efficient use of natural resources such as water, nutrients, and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Water is considered as the second most limiting factor after land to increase food and fiber production. It is essential for various chemical and physiological reactions in plants and provides a medium where most cellular functions take place. Soil water-deficit significantly reduces crop yield and productivity through its adverse effects on nutrient uptake, net assimilation, and radiation use efficiency and subsequently on dry matter accumulation and production. Soil water affects nutrient transformation from unavailable to available form or vice versa, and thereby the total uptake amount. It also influences the availability of applied nutrients and efficiency through its effect on various nutrient loss mechanisms such as volatilization, nitrification, and/or urease hydrolysis. Soil nutrients and PAR are also key factors in crop production. Plants usually suffer from nutrient deficiencies and more importantly a reduction in net photosynthetic assimilation rate under water stress. Better inception of PAR is needed for higher biomass production and grain yield, which is also hampered under water-limited environments. The situation is expected to be further intensified in a future changing climate, which urgently calls for efficient adaptation strategies to mitigate the negative impacts associated with these changes on crop production, especially in dry areas. Therefore, improving the efficiency of natural resources use continues to escalate as a topic of interest for crop and soil scientists. This review presents an outline of defining water use efficiency, nitrogen use efficiency, and radiation use efficiency as well as their relationship under water-limited environments to identify agronomic- and physiologically-improved strategies for enhancing water, nutrient (nitrogen), and radiation use by field crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Potato/vetch intercropping is tested as a sustainable cropping system. • Vetch was a stronger competitor for water with partial water equivalent ratio of 0.83. • Land equivalent ratio of 1.30 demonstrates high relative land use efficiency compared to sole crops. • Water equivalent ratio of 1.29 demonstrates high relative water use efficiency compared to sole crops. • Spatio-temporal complementarity for water use makes this a productive and resilient cropping system for semi-arid conditions. Protection from soil erosion and efficient use of water are vital to sustainable dryland potato production in semi-arid regions. Introducing legumes into semi-arid agricultural systems as intercrops improves soil quality due to biological nitrogen fixation and reduced wind erosion as a result of better soil cover, but the consequences of introducing legumes for the water use efficiency of the crop system are less predictable. Here we carried out field experiments from 2014 to 2017 in Inner Mongolia, China. We compared a rotational intercropping system of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) with monocultures of potato and hairy vetch and quantified crop yield, water use efficiency and land productivity. While the relative density (the ratio of plant density in intercrop and the density in sole stand) of both crops in the intercropping was 0.5, the average relative yield of the potato over four years was 0.43, but that of the vetch was 0.87, indicating dominance of the vetch in the intercropping system. Land and water equivalent ratios, defined as the area of land or amount of water that would be needed in single cropping to achieve the same yield as in intercropping, averaged to 1.30 and 1.29 over the years, respectively, indicating high relative land and water productivity of potato/hairy vetch intercropping compared to monocultures. Vetch was a stronger competitor for water than potato with a partial water equivalent ratio of 0.83. We conclude that the potato/vetch intercropping system improves land productivity and system level water use efficiency under the rain-fed semi-arid conditions of the study site. These results are useful to optimize cropping systems for regional sustainability with consideration of both arable crop production (potato) and provision of fodder for animal husbandry (vetch). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ambiente y Desarrollo is the property of Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Engineering for Thermal Energy & Power / Reneng Dongli Gongcheng is the property of Journal of Engineering for Thermal Energy & Power and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is promoted in many cities (e.g., Beijing and Shenzhen) as a climate change adaptation measure to relieve urban water supply and drainage pressures. In this study, the impacts of future climate change on water saving and stormwater capture performances of RWH systems at cities across four climatic zones of China are investigated. A downscaling technique based on the Climate Generator is evaluated and employed to generate future (2020–2050) daily rainfall data. Performance indices of RWH systems (i.e., water saving efficiency, reliability, and stormwater capture efficiency) calculated using both the future and historical (1985–2015) daily rainfall data are compared. Two water demand scenarios (i.e., lawn irrigation and toilet flushing) are included in the investigation. The water saving performance is positively affected by the increases in future rainfall at the four cities, while the stormwater capture performance is negatively affected as a larger tank size is required to achieve a desired stormwater capture efficiency in the future period. The responses of water saving and stormwater capture performances of RWH systems to climate change are varying with not only the system dimensions (i.e., storage capacity and catchment area), but also the water demand scenarios and locations. RWH systems with larger storage capacity for larger water demand scenarios at humid and semi-humid cities is expected to be more resilient to climate change. The various changing patterns of the performance indices highlight the importance of incorporating climate change in the design of RWH systems. Location-specific adaptive adjustments (e.g., adjusting tank sizes, catchment areas or water demand rates) need to be adopted so that RWH systems can sustainably meet water saving and stormwater control requirements under future climate conditions. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Impacts of climate change on rainwater harvesting (RWH) are investigated. • Water saving and stormwater control performances are evaluated. • A Markov chain-based downscaling technique is evaluated and employed. • Four climatic conditions and two water use scenarios are considered. • Performance curves are developed for RWH design & evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Life cycle comparison of coal and oil shale to liquid fuels routes are conducted. • Life cycle GHG emissions of CTF and STF routes are 15.54 and 9.82 t CO 2 -eq/t-fuels. • Life cycle water consumption of CTF and STF routes are 12.98 and 7.69 t/t-fuels. • Three feasible suggestions are proposed to reduce GHG emissions and water consumption of CTF route. Abstract Traditional liquid fuels production is heavily dependent on crude oil. Due to the conflict between liquid fuels demand and shortage of crude oil supply, Chinese government has begun to develop alternative feedstocks. In this paper, we carried out comparative analysis of coal to liquid fuels (CTF) and oil shale to liquid fuels (STF) from the perspectives of life cycle GHG emissions and water consumption. Results show that the life cycle GHG emissions of the CTF and STF routes are 15.54 and 9.82 t CO 2 -eq/t-fuels, which are greatly higher than that of oil to liquid fuels (OTF) route (6.36 t CO 2 -eq/t-fuels). The life cycle water consumption of the CTF route is the largest, 12.98 t/t-fuels, followed by the STF route, 7.69 t/t-fuels, and the OTF route 1.18 t/t-fuels. Therefore, taking measures to conduct the reduction of GHG emissions and water consumption is the key for the CTF. Three feasible suggestions are proposed as follows: (1) integrating coal and hydrogen-rich gas to produce liquid fuels; (2) optimizing the heat exchange and water networks; and (3) mobilizing the enthusiasm of reduction of emissions and saving water by implementing carbon tax and raising water price. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the current water scarcity and aiming at sustainable agricultural development, it is necessary to identify and apply the most appropriate practices for water saving, also considering yield and water productivity improvement. Tomato is a high-water-demand vegetable crop, and excessive use of irrigation water generally leads to overexploitation of groundwater resources and deterioration of the environment. In addition, excess irrigation water leads to low water productivity (yield/water use ratio). Thus, there is an urgent need to increase crop yield with concomitant conservation of water resources. This study aimed to identify the effect of regulated deficit irrigation on the yield and water productivity of tomato cultivar N-901 for industrialization purposes. Deficit irrigation was carried out during the vegetative growth stage, considering different seedling transplanting periods. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse at the School of Agronomy of the Federal University of Goiás (UFG). The experimental design was a randomized complete block with five replicates, in a 2 x 4 factorial arrangement. The plots were made by combining two periods of irrigation deficit (10 and 20 days after transplanting - DAT) and four soil water tension thresholds (30; 40; 60; and 70 kPa). The results showed that the studied cultivar responded significantly to the water deficit, providing different agronomic development profiles. The tensions of 30 and 60 kPa applied at 10 DAT were the ones that most intensified yield and water productivity without significantly affecting the agronomic development of the crop. Deficit irrigation at 60 kPa was shown to reduce the total volume of water applied during the cycle without significantly reducing crop production compared to the tension of 30 kPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Seawater irrigated soilless culture has the most accurate control over the supply of water. • Seawater in the growing media, up to certain concentrations, does not negatively affect the productivity. • Quality improvements in plants grown with seawater were generally assessed. • Salt stress can lead to severe damages in crops production if not carefully administered. • Before proposing it as a commercial option, research is needed in respect to each potentially cultivable species and cultivar. Abstract Available freshwater counts on less than 1% of the water on Earth and of such share an average of 70% is absorbed by the agricultural sector. Since the rhythm of freshwater withdrawal is faster than its regeneration, measures have to be taken in order to preserve such an important resource. The use of seawater in soilless culture is an interesting option to limit freshwater withdrawal for food production, with any additional negative imput into soils. The present review aims at describing the state of the art of seawater as an irrigation complementary source in soilless culture, providing a critical overview on the available information on the subject and on the potential and constraints of its implementation at a commercial level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A desiccant cooling system is proposed for coproduction of cooling and water. • Ability of providing comfort conditions in hot and humid climate was investigated. • This system covers its water use and produces excess water for domestic usage. • Energy and carbon saving of the proposed was investigated. • Economic evaluation indicates feasibility of the proposed system. Abstract Although evaporative coolers consume much lower electricity than the vapor compression systems, they are not applicable in humid climates. Combination of desiccant wheels and evaporative coolers, known as desiccant-based evaporative cooling systems, allows evaporative coolers to be used in humid climates, which provide significant energy and environmental advantages with respect to vapor compression systems. However, one of the main disadvantages of evaporative cooling is the high water. Regarding the global water crisis, a cooling system which saves both water and energy will be an attractive alternative to the current cooling systems. To this aim, this paper presents a novel desiccant-based evaporative cooling system for co-production of water and cooling. In this system, the moisture content of exhaust regeneration air is recycled to cover all of the evaporative cooler water consumption, and also part of the domestic water usage. To evaluate the system performance, dynamic hourly simulation of the proposed system as well as a reference vapor compression system was performed for a typical 60 m2 building in hot and humid climate of Bandar Abbas, Iran. The simulation results show that the proposed system is able to provide comfort temperature and relative humidity in a hot and humid climate. Moisture harvesting produce about 590 L water during a week, which covers all of the evaporative cooler water consumption, and provides an excess amount of 289 L for domestic usage. Monthly integrated results indicate that electricity consumption of the proposed system is 60% lower than the reference system, while its natural gas consumption is 30% higher than VCS, which is due to the high regeneration temperature in some hours. In other worlds, this system replace electricity consumption, a high-exergy and expensive energy carrier, with heat consumption. This system leads to 18.7% saving of CO 2 emissions over a month. Economic evaluation proves the economic feasibility of proposed system with a payback period of 3 years. In conclusion, proposed system provide a more environmental friendly cooling system for water, energy and carbon saving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of solid lubricants in anhydrous grinding technologies is consistent in reducing the use of water to serve industrial needs, which is one of the leading global environmental dominants. It is proposed to carry out development and research of ecological anhydrous processes of abrasive finishing forming of difficult-to-process materials by the method of diamond-spark grinding, which is the founder of NTU "KPI" and which has proved its high innovative flexibility and efficiency by wide scientific and industrial practice. The technologically competitive environment and some hypotheses and bases for the development of a complex of patentable technical solutions, as well as scientific and practical recommendations on the choice and technological instructions for the implementation of solid lubricants in diamond-spark grinding operations are presented. The article announces the implementation of the project ID: 62437 (3002- 5695) with international cooperation under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Education of Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the arid lands covering Uzbekistan, furrow irrigation with low application efficiency is still widely used due to a lack of funds and shortage of labor. To save water and prevent secondary salinization caused by excessive irrigation, it is important to adopt low-cost and easy water-saving irrigation methods. Onishi et al. (2017) proposed simplified surge flow (SF) irrigation that does not require expensive equipment and merely divides the water supply into two phases at 1-day intervals. This study investigated the suitable inflow rate and furrow length of simplified SF to improve water application efficiency in Uzbekistan. Five experimental plots (total area of 2,250 m2, with 25 furrows) were set up, and the inflow rates for two plots were 5 Ls−1 (F5.0) and that for the others were 1.7 Ls−1 (F1.7). The conventional irrigation method (F5.0C and F1.7C) and simplified SF (F5.0S and F1.7S) were applied to cases of furrow length of 100 m under each inflow rate. In addition, simplified SF was applied on a 50-m furrow at F1.7 (F1.7S-50). In the first irrigation using simplified SF, water was supplied from the start point of the furrow (0 m) for half of the furrow length (50 m, 25 m). In the second irrigation, water was supplied from the start point to the end of the furrow (100 m, 50 m). The application efficiency in F1.7S and F1.7S-50 was higher than that in F1.7C and F1.7C-50, and the highest was in F1.7S-50. The water supply duration was shorter in F5.0S, but the total volume of supplied water was larger than that of F1.7C. These results indicate that shortening furrow length might be an effective way to save water using simplified SF with a low inflow rate, and in contrast, that it is necessary to extend furrow length with a high inflow rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Sanitary-ware industry, as a sub-sector in the ceramic industry, is a great consumer of energy and water, although there are some opportunities to reduce the global consumption, especially for factories based on resin molds technology. This research aims to show the way to reduce drastically water consumption by recovering waste heat into a multi-effect distillation system to re-use most of the flushing water. This solution improves both, the environmental and economic performance of this industry. The proposed configuration is a multi-effect distillation (MED) adapted to run with recovered heat from the kiln exhausting. The efficiency of the system is improved by recovering the heat of the gas mixture leaving the first effect in the pre-heater of the feeding water. The research lays on the computerized simulation of the coupled systems run under different parameters. Mathematical and thermodynamic models have been developed to simulate the behavior of the system. The obtained results show the optimal configuration depending on the thermal variables which could achieve up to almost 92% of the needed water against conventional technology. The system can be applicable to new or existing factories based on resin molds technology and this research may contribute to reduce consumption of resources and thus, the environmental impact. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Water consumption reduction in a sanitary-ware factory is presented and validated. • Heat recovery from kiln provides energy for the water treatment by MED distillation. • Water management accounting as an extension to environmental management accounting. • Proposed method produces reductions of resources and economic improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A new cost-effective indicator of assessing irrigation performance can be performed by using surface energy balance models. • Comparing hydrants delivered water volumes to surface energy balance actual evapotranspiration can be used for assessing irrigation systems. • A methodology to extract actual evapotranspiration was set to overcome the bias induced by cubic convolution resampling of satellite images. • It was observed that monthly irrigation volumes applied at plot scale were higher than actual evapotranspiration under full water supply. • It was demonstrated that a considerable amount of water could have been saved in the whole irrigation district over an entire irrigation season. Abstract Remote sensing techniques allow monitoring the Earth surface and acquiring worthwhile information that can be used efficiently in agro-hydrological systems. Satellite images associated to computational models represent reliable resources to estimate actual evapotranspiration fluxes, ET a , based on surface energy balance. The knowledge of ET a and its spatial distribution is crucial for a broad range of applications at different scales, from fields to large irrigation districts. In single plots and/or in irrigation districts, linking water volumes delivered to the plots with the estimations of remote sensed ET a can have a great potential to develop new cost-effective indicators of irrigation performance, as well as to increase water use efficiency. With the aim to assess the irrigation system performance and the opportunities to save irrigation water resources at the "SAT Llano Verde" district in Albacete, Castilla-La Mancha (Spain), the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) was applied on cloud-free Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) images, processed by cubic convolution resampling method, for three irrigation seasons (May to September 2006, 2007 and 2008). The model allowed quantifying instantaneous, daily, monthly and seasonal ET a over the irrigation district. The comparison between monthly irrigation volumes distributed by each hydrant and the corresponding spatially averaged ET a , obtained by assuming an overall efficiency of irrigation network equal to 85%, allowed the assessment of the irrigation system performance for the area served by each hydrant, as well as for the whole irrigation district. It was observed that in all the investigated years, irrigation volumes applied monthly by farmers resulted generally higher than the corresponding evapotranspiration fluxes retrieved by SEBAL, with the exception of May, in which abundant rainfall occurred. When considering the entire irrigation seasons, it was demonstrated that a considerable amount of water could have been saved in the district, respectively equal to 26.2, 28.0 and 16.4% of the total water consumption evaluated in the three years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A new method for irrigation scheduling is proposed and tested. • The proposed method can save irrigation water without significant yield loss. • Forecasting performance of total rainfall in consecutive 3 days is higher than daily forecasts. • The rule-based method incorporated with weather forecasts is suggested for irrigation practice. Abstract Better use of rainfall is an essential strategy to save irrigation water for paddy rice. Since unnecessary irrigation is usually applied to field without considering the possible rainfall after irrigation, weather forecast (e.g., rainfall) can be used to potentially save irrigation water. In this study, the rainfall event mainly focused on the total rainfall in consecutive 3 days within rice growth period rather than the daily rainfall. Based on that, three rain levels were redefined for irrigation decision-making. By incorporating the possible rain level of the first 3 days in weather forecast horizon, a new method based on simple decision rule was proposed and evaluated for irrigation scheduling of paddy rice over a wide range of climate conditions in China. The results indicated that, the occurrence probability of each rain level in next 3 days can be clearly recognized, and their forecasting performance was much better than that of daily rain events. Comparing to the conventional irrigation, the newly proposed irrigation scheduling method can further save irrigation water (about 0 − 100 mm) and reduce drainage (about 0 − 60 mm) without significant yield loss (< 1%). The results also showed that, the efficiency of water saving and drainage reduction had a certain correlation with the total rainfall and the daily rainfall distribution during rice growth period. Moreover, about 1 − 3 extra irrigations were needed in this new irrigation scheduling method due to great temp-spatial variation of rainfall distributions and imperfect weather forecasts. Nevertheless, the newly proposed irrigation scheduling method incorporated with weather forecast is suggested to apply in irrigation practice for its simplicity and effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The effect of trimming around 40–60% of shoot length was evaluated. • Vine water status was determined through stem water potential and carbon isotope ratio analyses. • Positive effects of trimming on vine water status were only observed with warmer and drier climate conditions. • Yield, cluster number and cluster weight were not affected by severe trimming. Abstract Viticulture in Southern Europe heads towards a scenario of drier and warmer the growing seasons due to climate change. This decrease in the amount of water available for the vines and increase in evapotranspiration make necessary finding strategies to reduce vineyard water needs. In this context, the effect of severe trimming (40–60% of shoot length), performed at pea-size stage, on plant water status was evaluated in four different vineyards located in North of Spain. Severe trimming improved plant water status clearly only when climate conditions were more demanding, whereas only a slight improvement or no change was observed elsewhere. Lower leaf areas resulted in less water deficit following a logarithmical trend revealing that the effect was more pronounced at low leaf area levels. Severe trimming had non-significant effects on cluster number, yield and cluster weight, but presents a tendency to reduce total soluble solids content and to increase total acidity, consequently delaying ripening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a water saving approach through the reuse of washing wastewater without draining. The final bath (neutralisation bath) of the washing processes for cleaning purposes is not drained but reused in the first step of the next washing process. All the practises are carried out in plant scale and by using actual operational data. It is found that 10-30% water saving can be obtained in washing processes without any investment cost. It is also observed that the method does not have considerable negative effect on the quality of the fabric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Access to water for irrigating amenity landscape and public gardens is under intense pressure due to the rising competition for water between different sectors, exacerbated by increased drought risk and climate change. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) has the potential to reduce the economic impacts of restrictions on irrigation abstraction in dry years and to build resilience to future water shortages. This study investigated the hydrological viability of RWH for the landscape and public garden sector based on an analysis of five Royal Horticultural Society gardens. A RWH model was developed and combined with on-site observations, key informant interviews and GIS analyses, to estimate irrigation demands and the volumes of harvested rainfall for contrasting agroclimatic years. The results showed that gardens located in wetter regions and with low irrigation water demand to harvestable area ratio had a higher RWH potential and could almost exclusively rely on rainwater to meet irrigation demand, even in dry years. RWH potential is more limited for gardens in drier regions where they would require larger areas to harvest rainwater and for storage. Appropriately designed rainwater harvesting systems offer the potential to remove most of the risk of irrigation abstraction restrictions during dry years and associated impacts on amenity planting quality and visitor experience. • Rainwater harvesting can significantly de-risk public gardens from drought impacts. • Modelling the hydrological regime and storage requirements informs RWH investment. • Public gardens offer opportunities for passive rainwater harvesting development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water usage optimization in rice cultivation is challenging for many agricultural countries, including Thailand, who have set goals of reaching net zero emissions and coping with droughts caused by climate change. Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) and biochar application are possible practices for achieving cleaner rice production through reduction of GHG emissions and water consumption. However, these methods' potential varies by site, especially in areas with limited control of water levels. This study assessed the effects of AWD at different drying levels (10, 15, and 20 cm below the soil surface) and rice straw biochar on GHG emissions, yield production, water use, soil characteristics, and economic aspects. This study was conducted over two rice cultivation seasons: a major season in 2022 and a second season in 2023 at a field in Kalasin Province, northeastern Thailand. Using AWD and biochar reduced annual GHG emissions by 48.2% and 8.01%, respectively. Deeper drying levels of AWD showed greater mitigation potential than shallow levels. The combination of AWD and biochar had additional potential for GHG mitigation, however, this impact did not show statistical change as compared to their separate potentials. The adoption of AWD and biochar could also maintain the amount of rice yield compared to traditional practice. All levels of AWD saved irrigation water consumption by an average of 16.8% per season; the highest potential was observed in AWD at 10 cm below the soil surface. Biochar improved soil health after two seasons by enhancing soil pH and organic carbon sequestration. The combination of AWD and biochar did not additionally augment the capacity in water saving of AWD or soil improvement of biochar. The AWD water regime also did not increase net profits, while biochar decreased net profits due to the required investment in biochar production. Using AWD is a feasible way to mitigate GHG emissions and save water without affecting rice productivity and net profits in northeastern Thailand. [Display omitted] • Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) mitigated greenhouse gas emissions by 48.2%. • AWD reduced irrigation water use by an average of 16.8%. • AWD at 15 cm of drying level without biochar is suggested as a mitigation tool. • Rice straw biochar showed the significant impact on soil organic carbon stock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Smart, sustainable precision irrigation system to prevent water and energy losses. • Combined weather-soil irrigation strategies using field sensor evaluation and fuzzy logic-optimized control decision. • Long-range IoT communication unit using LoRa protocol. Adopting and developing sustainable precision irrigation systems allows for improving productivity, reducing water and energy losses in agricultural fields. This paper deals with the development and real-time implementation of a smart precision irrigation system (SPIS). The proposed system combines two irrigation approaches, processed by a feedback fuzzy logic (FL) controller, and long-range data transmission and monitoring via the LoRa protocol. The combined approaches not only enhance overall performance but also address several limitations commonly associated with existing approaches. The proposed system uses the collected data from the sensors unit to provide the optimal irrigation decision and communicates it with the operator (farmer) via a developed IoT platform. Data from soil moisture, ambient temperature, solar irradiance, and rainfall sensors are processed through the FL controller to adjust the irrigation times. The inputs and outputs are fuzzified by trapezoidal and triangular membership functions. Mamdani's fuzzy inference is used to control the system through a set of linguistic control rules for a more accurate decision for each scenario. The field experimentation of the developed SPIS in the eastern region of Morocco shows high efficiency and reliability by saving water and energy compared to traditional irrigation control. The proposed system, with remote data monitoring, promotes better management of irrigation, water, and energy consumption, and it is suitable to be mounted with any type of irrigation installation in the field, without extensive modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the water demand management there is a certain relationship between attitudes, beliefs, actual behavior of consumers and water consumption. There are many factors in a positive attitude towards water use. By providing the right information should changed the beliefs and attitudes of citizens towards drinking water habits. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of training on water consumption in the Khorramabad city in 1394. Methods: This study was conducted in the Lorestan province and in the Khorramabad city. That the effect of training on water saving was evaluated for 60 households with high water consumption levels. The selected households were randomly assigned to 2 groups: control and treatment. In the treatment group was taught how to properly use in a regular basis and periodically meter reading for both groups took .This study was performed for 6 months in summer and autumn in 1394. Results: The results of this study showed that households in 1393 and 1394 respectively in the control group consumed an average per capita consumption of 60.78 ± 253.7 and 62.35 ± 208 liters per day per person. The average consumption per capita in 93 and 94 in the treatment group was respectively 192.14 ±51.2 and 171.9 ± 48.57 liters per day per person. As well as due to intervention education decrease 9-11% water consumption. Conclusion: The basic results of this study to raise public awareness about the water crisis, stresses and the importance of water using education can affect to water use. It can also promote a culture of right consumption and to change people’s behavior towards water use.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of various irrigation water (W) and nitrogen (N) levels on growth, root-shoot morphology, yield, and irrigation water use efficiency of greenhouse tomatoes in spring–summer and fall–winter. The experiment consisted of three irrigation water levels (W: 100% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc), 80%, and 60% of full irrigation) and three N application levels (N: 100%, 75%, and 50% of the standard nitrogen concentration in Hoagland’s solution treatments equivalent to 15, 11.25, 7.5 mM). All the growth parameters of tomato significantly decreased (p < 0.05) with the decrease in the amount of irrigation and nitrogen application. Results depicted that a slight decrease in irrigation and an increase in N supply improved average root diameter, total root length, and root surface area, while the interaction was observed non-significant at average diameter of roots. Compared to the control, W80 N100 was statistically non-significant in photosynthesis and stomatal conductance. The W80 N100 resulted in a yield decrease of 2.90% and 8.75% but increased irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) by 21.40% and 14.06%. Among interactions, the reduction in a single factor at W80 N100 and W100 N75 compensated the growth and yield. Hence, W80 N100 was found to be optimal regarding yield and IWUE, with 80% of irrigation water and 15 mM of N fertilization for soilless tomato production in greenhouses.

Irrigated cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) growers in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) of Australia, are challenged by limited water availability. This modelling-study aimed to determine if deficit irrigation (DI) practices can potentially improve water use efficiency (WUE) for furrow irrigation (FI), overhead sprinkler irrigation (OSI) and subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) systems. We validated the Agricultural Production System sIMulator (APSIM) against observed cotton lint yield and crop biomass accumulation for different management practices. The model achieved concordance correlation coefficients of 0.93 and 0.82 against observed cotton crop biomass accumulation and lint yields, respectively. The model was then applied to evaluate the impacts of different levels of DI on lint yield, WUE across cotton growing locations in the MDB (Goondiwindi, Moree, Narrabri, and Warren), during the period from 1977 to 2017. The different levels of DI for the FI system were no irrigation, full irrigation (TF) and irrigated one out of four, one out of three, one out of two, two out of three and two out of four TF events. For the OSI and SDI systems, DI levels were no irrigation, TF, 20% of TF, 40% of TF, 60% of TF and 80% of TF. Lint yield was maximised under the OSI and SDI systems for most locations by applying 80% of TF. However; modelling identified that WUE was maximised at 60% of full irrigation for OSI and SDI systems. These results suggest there are significant gains in agronomic performance to be gained through the application of DI practices with these systems. For FI, DI had no benefit in terms of increasing yield, while DI showed marginal gains in terms of WUE in some situations. This result is due to the greater exposure to periodic water deficit stress that occurred when DI practices were applied by an FI system. The results suggest that in the northern MDB, water savings could be realised for cotton production under both OSI and SDI systems if DI were adopted to a limited extent, depending on location and irrigation system.