Temperature
Water
Carbon
May 9, 2024
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Rosa Schmidt
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Have you ever been flying into an airport, looked out of the window and wondered what all of those green circles are on the ground? Especially in a country that is more well known for being desert than it is for farmland?
Let's take a closer look at Saudi Arabia and its popular agricultural practise – Pivot irrigation.
What is Pivot Irrigation?
Pivot irrigation is an advanced method of watering large agricultural areas efficiently. It involves a system of wheeled towers connected by horizontal pipes, typically made of galvanized steel or aluminium. Water is sourced from a supply point and distributed through the pipes to sprinklers strategically placed along the pipeline. This method has evolved since the 1950s and is widely used by farmers globally due to its effectiveness in irrigating expansive fields.
Fast forward to the deserts of Saudi Arabia, circular irrigation pivots cover vast areas of them, with water being pumped from underground to the centre of the pivot and then out across the boom and on to the crop as it rotates around the circle like the minute hand of a clock. They are the most efficient way of distributing water across these vast areas, rapidly growing in area to create the other planetary landscapes that we see today. However, this exacerbates water scarcity by tapping into fossil water reserves, leading to the depletion of underground aquifers and agricultural sustainability challenges.
Saudi Arabia’s agriculture – from deserts to green oasis
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia underwent a remarkable transformation in the 1970s, emerging as one of the top ten wheat producers globally. This feat was made possible by harnessing vast underground water sources, equivalent in size to Lake Erie, to irrigate the land and achieve wheat self-sufficiency. By the 1980s, production surged, and between 1984 and 1992, Saudi Arabia became a net exporter of wheat, producing over four million tonnes.
However, this agricultural success story came with a significant cost. Today the kingdom is one of the most water stressed countries in the world.
To safeguard food security amidst dwindling water resources, the Saudi Arabian government has acquired agricultural land in various countries, including the United States, Argentina, and Africa. This strategic move aims to diversify food production and mitigate dependence on dwindling water supplies.
The rapid depletion of underground water reservoirs, exacerbated by limited rainfall replenishment, prompted a decline in production and an increased reliance on wheat imports to meet growing demand. Recent disruptions in wheat imports have heightened concerns over food security, prompting the government to prioritize increasing domestic production.
Despite being one of the most water-stressed nations globally, Saudi Arabia faces escalating water demand driven by population growth and improving living standards. Due to the limited annual rainfall of only a few centimetres (approximately one inch) in this region, water has become a non-renewable resource. While the exact quantity of water beneath the desert remains unknown, hydrologists estimate that it will only be economically viable to pump water for approximately 50 years.
In response to these pressing challenges, Saudi Arabia has implemented a national water strategy focused on restructuring the water sector for sustainability and efficiency. However, optimizing water usage remains a complex task, particularly in large-scale irrigation systems. Optimizing water usage is critical, but very difficult to achieve across the vast scale of these areas of irrigation pivots. Farmers need to be able to measure the rate of evapotranspiration (ET) in order to understand how much water the crops require and from that adjust their irrigation ratees and timings. A historical way of doing this has been by taking the air temperature from local weather stations and sensors and using this to calculate the ET.
One of the main limitations of this method is that temperature varies across a landscape and the water requirements can vary dramatically across a farm or even a field.
Models are currently predicting an increase in temperature of 2.1-4.1 0C by 2050 for the northern region of Saudi Arabia, which could increase ET rates by 10-27%. This is likely to have a negative effect on the crop water requirements.
With wheat making up 20% of global calorie consumption, it is a critical crop for governments to ensure they have enough supply. This is why the Saudi Arabian government is currently offering farmers $466 per tonne for wheat, which is keeping domestic production high at 1.2 million tonnes per year.
These increasing temperatures, demand and a dwindling water supply, make it absolutely imperative to make irrigation of wheat more precise.
Satellite LST makes this scalable, by providing data on crop water usage available for every acre on every pivot across the country. This data also makes it possible to monitor and understand which management practices are the most water use efficient for wheat.
.. so, how does a sustainable future look like?
Sustainability lies at the heart of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, as the Kingdom aims for a Net Zero future by 2060. With a steadfast commitment to clean energy and sustainability, Saudi Arabia is pioneering innovative solutions to address energy and climate challenges. Initiatives such as the Circular Carbon Economy (CCE) and a diversified energy mix, aiming for 50% renewable energy by 2030, underscore the Kingdom's leadership in this endeavour.
Efforts to protect the environment and biodiversity are paramount, with sustainable agriculture practices and conservation initiatives playing a crucial role. This includes establishing wildlife sanctuaries and promoting sustainable tourism to safeguard endangered species and preserve the Kingdom's natural landscapes.
Satellite-derived Land Surface Temperature (LST) offers a promising solution by providing detailed spatial data to optimize water management practices. The imminent launch of constellr’s first satellite constellation by constellr represents a significant advancement in LST data capabilities, with improved resolution and frequency. This innovative technology empowers growers to:
In this image we can exemplify the usage of LST. It is easier to monitor irrigation activities, aiding in resource allocation by identifying areas of the field with varying water requirements. It also indicates different growth stages within the same parcels, supporting management decisions.
As time and heat moves forward into July across three different dates, we observe a gradual increase in overall temperature, allowing us to track the irrigation regime in place. Within only two-week intervals, some parcels start to accuse the effects of the heat, leading to increased evapotranspiration rates that can potentially impact expected yields.
High spatio-temporal resolution data offers the perfect solution for keeping a close watch on the field, diagnosing problems as they arise. This capability empowers to lead the charge in understanding which resource management practices can assist growers in tackling the climate change challenges of tomorrow.
Join our Early Access Program to be at the forefront of accessing this groundbreaking data and revolutionize your land management practices or check out our thought leadership article about the agricultural challenges of Brazil.
