Estimation of the Water Reserve in the Soil Using GIS and Its Application in Irrigated Olive Groves in Jaen, (Spain)

Abstract

Soil water reserves are very important for irrigation scheduling in arid and semiarid conditions. In these regions, irrigated olive groves could save water and improve water resource management if the spatial and temporal patterns of water reserve were known. In this work, a large region characterized by olive monoculture located in Jaén, Spain was studied, as well as its water requirements and the evolution of the water reserve in the soil according to the time of year by using public data sources. In this way, climatic data, NDVI monthly mean, soil type, physicochemical and hydrological properties of the soil have been integrated in GIS by means of easy-to-use techniques. The results obtained from both the water balance and the evolution of water in the soil show that in the region studied, it is not advisable to manage a single irrigation schedule, as is currently the case, and that it is necessary to implement different irrigation times and strategies depending on the location of the plot. These results can serve as a basis for the design of specific irrigation schedules on daily, hourly or real-time time scales depending on the availability of data and the degree of precision sought.