Dynamics of irrigated land in central-western Argentina during the period 1986-2018: Analysis based on the anomaly of the improved vegetation index

Authors

  • Sebastián A. Otta Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), CCT Mendoza. CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo & Gobierno de Mendoza
  • Esteban G. Jobbágy Grupo de Estudios Ambientales. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada San Luis (IMASL). Universidad Nacional de San Luis & CONICET
  • Alberto I. J. Vich Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), CCT Mendoza. CONICET. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo.
  • Ernesto F. Viglizzo Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa (INCITAP). CONICET & Universidad de La Pampa
  • Carolina Lauro Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), CCT Mendoza. CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo & Gobierno de Mendoza.
  • Emilce Vaccarino Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), CCT Mendoza. CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo & Gobierno de Mendoza
  • Luis Bastidas Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), CCT Mendoza. CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo & Gobierno de Mendoza

Keywords:

agricultural oases, irrigated drylands, irrigation agriculture, google earth engine, land use and land cover change

Abstract

Irrigated cropland changes in arid regions have strong implications for food production, water demand, crop and groundwater sustainability. The oases of Central-Western Argentina constitute one of the largest irrigated areas across South America. The aim of this paper is to study the spatial and temporal dynamics of the irrigated lands in Central-Western Argentina in the period 1986-2018, their relationship with the evolution of the agricultural-productive system and the drivers of land use change. For the analysis of irrigated areas, an empirical model was used to estimate evapotranspiration anomalies based on the EVI index, implemented in the Google Earth Engine cloud-computing platform. The irrigated area increased by 17%, driven by growth in the Upper Tunuyán (36%), San Juan (19%) and Mendoza (10.4%) river basins. The growth of irrigated areas mainly includes expansion into the foothills through the use of groundwater and new sewage effluent reuse areas. The abandonment of irrigated plots is associated with urban sprawling over irrigated croplands and abandonment in marginal areas, where a deep transformation in land and water use occurs. The results suggest an irrigation water supply sustained in plots abandoned for agricultural production and a decrease in irrigated and cultivated area during the last decade. The transformations found in irrigation patterns, crop choices and total irrigated area have strong implications for water balances and should be considered for territorial planning and sustainable water management in the Central-Western Argentina basins.

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Published

2022-12-13

How to Cite

Otta, S. A., Jobbágy, E. G., Vich, A. I. J., Viglizzo, E. F., Lauro, C., Vaccarino, E., & Bastidas, L. (2022). Dynamics of irrigated land in central-western Argentina during the period 1986-2018: Analysis based on the anomaly of the improved vegetation index. Geoacta, 44(1), 35–55. Retrieved from https://revistas.unlp.edu.ar/geoacta/article/view/14496

Issue

Vol. 44 No. 1 (2022)

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Scientific work

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