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"This study investigates the impact of climate change and land use change on water resources and food security in Jordan. The country is dominated by arid climate with limited arable land and water resources, where the per capita share of water is less than 145 m3/year. The study focused on crop production and water resources under trends of anticipated climate change and population growth in the country. Remote sensing data were used to determine land use/cover changes and rates of urbanization, which took place at the cost of the cultivable land. Recession of irrigated areas led to lesser food production and food security. Outputs from crop production and water requirements models, in addition to regression analysis, were used to estimate the projected increase in agricultural water demand under the scenarios of increased air temperature and reduced rainfall by the years 2030 and 2050. Results indicated that problems of water scarcity and food insecurity would be exacerbated by climate change and increased population growth. To move from the tragedy of the commons towards transcendence, the study emphasized the need for adaptive measures to reduce the impacts of climate change on water resources and food security. The challenge, however, would remain the development and the efficient use of new water resources as a means for future sustainable development."

Gypsic soils often have good potential for both rainfed and irrigated cropping. In recent decades, there has been a significant increase in using gypsic soils because of a need to extend agricultural production into previously non-cultivated arid and semi-arid regions. Gypsum is a common component in soils of arid areas of Jordan. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the processes of formation of gypsic horizons and their pedofeatures. The study area is located in the Azraq basin in the northeastern region of Jordan. Seven representative profiles were selected for laboratory analysis. Soil samples were taken from genetic horizons for the laboratory analyses. Occurrence of gypsum in soils of the study area indicates that local climatic conditions with low rainfall do not allow leaching of weakly soluble gypsum. The pedogenetic processes are very slightly expressed and consist mainly of a slight bioaccumulation of humus and nutrients reflected in an ochric A horizon , and a slight migration of gypsum and accumulation of gypsum in a subsurface gypsic or petrogypsic horizon, clay illuviation and leaching of the soluble salts. The studied soils belong to the Haplogypsids (Haplic Gypsisols); Argigypsids (Argic Gypsisols); and Calcigypsids (Calcic Gypsisols) great groups

This study shows how remote sensing methods are used to support and provide means for improving agricultural water management (AWM) in Jordan through detailed mapping of irrigated areas and irrigation water consumption (IWC). Digital processing and classification methods were applied on multi-temporal data of Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 to derive maps of irrigated areas for the period 2017–2019. Different relationships were developed between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the crop coefficient (Kc) to map evapotranspiration (ET). Using ground data, ET maps were transferred to IWC for the whole country. Spatial analysis was then used to delineate hotspots where shifts between ET and groundwater abstraction were observed. Results showed that the applied remote sensing methods provided accurate maps of irrigated areas. The NDVI-Kc relationships were significant, with coefficients of determination (R2) ranging from 0.89 to 0.93. Subsequently, the ET estimates from the NDVI-Kc relationships were in agreement with remotely sensed ET modeled by SEBAL (NSE = 0.89). In the context of Jordan, results showed that irrigated areas in the country reached 98 thousand ha in 2019, with 64% of this area located in the highlands. The main irrigated crops were vegetables (55%) and fruit trees and olives (40%). The total IWC reached 702 MCM in 2019, constituting 56% of the total water consumption in Jordan, with 375 MCM of this amount being pumped from groundwater, while reported abstraction was only 235 MCM. The study identified the hotspots where illegal abstraction or incorrect metering of groundwater existed. Furthermore, it emphasized the roles of remote sensing in AWM, as it provided updated figures on groundwater abstraction and forecasts for future IWC, which would reach 986 MCM in 2050. Therefore, the approach of ET and IWC mapping would be highly recommended to map ET and to provide estimates of present and future IWC.

Remote sensing can provide important and updated information for agricultural water accounting (AWA). In this study, data from the open-access portal (WaPOR) of the Food and Agricultural Organization was used in AWA to assess levels of agricultural water consumption and to provide possible solutions for water deficiency in the North Jordan Valley (NJV). Consolidated procedures have been applied to complement and validate the WaPOR products. These included the use of climatic and ground data, the multispectral remote-sensing data of Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8 to derive land use/cover maps, GIS layers, and calibrated evapotranspiration (ET) estimates using the surface energy balance algorithm for land (SEBAL). The data of water inflows and outflows were analyzed using the water accounting plus (WA+) system. Results showed that the WaPOR data of actual ET and interception (AETI) were highly correlated with SEBAL-ET, with WaPOR data overestimating ET for irrigated areas. Precipitation data from WaPOR, on the other hand, were underestimating inflow from rainfall, although significant correlations were observed between these data and rainfall records. As a result, the quality of WaPOR data affected the outputs from agricultural water accounting. The main impact on water accounting outputs was the underestimation of percolated water that could be utilized as a possible solution to water deficiency in the NJV. In addition, the water accounting performance indicators were relatively affected, although they reflected the nature of the study area where water deficiency predominated as a result of inter-basin transfer. The study compared outputs from water accounting in terms of the possible solutions to water deficiency in the NJV and concluded that considerable amounts of recoverable water could be developed when compared with the option of developing surface water from the side wadis. Also, it emphasized the important role of remote-sensing sources for providing information for AWA needed for improved water management and governance.