TY - JOUR
T1 - Up-scaling potential impacts on water flows from agricultural water interventions
T2 - opportunities and trade-offs in the Osman Sagar catchment, Musi sub-basin, India: IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL WATER INTERVENTIONS ON ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
AU - Garg, Kaushal K.
AU - Wani, Suhas P.
AU - Barron, Jennie
AU - Karlberg, Louise
AU - Rockstrom, Johan
PY - 2013/12/30
Y1 - 2013/12/30
N2 - Up-scaling potential impacts on water flows from agricultural water interventions: opportunities and trade-offs in the Osman Sagar catchment, Musi sub-basin, India Agricultural water management (AWM) has been shown to improve and secure yields in the tropics and has been suggested as an important way to combat poverty in the region. In this paper, we describe potential impacts on upstream and downstream flows of extensive AWM interventions, using the watershed development programme of the Osman Sagar catchment of Musi sub-basin, Andhra Pradesh semi-arid India, as an example. Various AWM interventions are compared with a non-intervention state and the current state of the study area, using 31 years of data by application of the calibrated and validated ARCSWAT 2005 (Version 2.1.4a) modelling tool. Different AWM interventions contribute to improved livelihoods of upstream smallholder farmers by increasing soil moisture availability and groundwater recharge, which can subsequently be used for irrigation. The result is higher crop production and hence larger incomes. Moreover, lower flow intensities and sediment losses reduced by 30–50%, reducing the risk of flooding and sediment accumulation in the Osman Sagar drinking water reservoir. On the other hand, AWM interventions are predicted to result in reduced total water inflows to the Osman Sagar reservoir from 11% of the total annual rainfall (754 mm) recorded at present, to 8% if AWM interventions were implemented at large scale throughout the catchment. A cost–benefit analysis of AWM interventions showed that the highest net economic returns were achieved at intermediate intervention levels (only in-situ AWM).
AB - Up-scaling potential impacts on water flows from agricultural water interventions: opportunities and trade-offs in the Osman Sagar catchment, Musi sub-basin, India Agricultural water management (AWM) has been shown to improve and secure yields in the tropics and has been suggested as an important way to combat poverty in the region. In this paper, we describe potential impacts on upstream and downstream flows of extensive AWM interventions, using the watershed development programme of the Osman Sagar catchment of Musi sub-basin, Andhra Pradesh semi-arid India, as an example. Various AWM interventions are compared with a non-intervention state and the current state of the study area, using 31 years of data by application of the calibrated and validated ARCSWAT 2005 (Version 2.1.4a) modelling tool. Different AWM interventions contribute to improved livelihoods of upstream smallholder farmers by increasing soil moisture availability and groundwater recharge, which can subsequently be used for irrigation. The result is higher crop production and hence larger incomes. Moreover, lower flow intensities and sediment losses reduced by 30–50%, reducing the risk of flooding and sediment accumulation in the Osman Sagar drinking water reservoir. On the other hand, AWM interventions are predicted to result in reduced total water inflows to the Osman Sagar reservoir from 11% of the total annual rainfall (754 mm) recorded at present, to 8% if AWM interventions were implemented at large scale throughout the catchment. A cost–benefit analysis of AWM interventions showed that the highest net economic returns were achieved at intermediate intervention levels (only in-situ AWM).
U2 - 10.1002/hyp.9516
DO - 10.1002/hyp.9516
M3 - Article
SN - 0885-6087
VL - 27
SP - 3905
EP - 3921
JO - Hydrological processes
JF - Hydrological processes
IS - 26
ER -