Irrigation performance and gross water productivity in furrow-irrigated ornamental tree production

In the ornamental plant production region of Girona (Spain), which is one of the largest of its kind in southern Europe, most of the surface is irrigated using wide blocked-end furrows. The objectives of this paper were: (1) to evaluate the irrigation scheduling methods used by ornamental plant producers; (2) to analyse different scenarios inorder to assess how they affect irrigation performance; (3) to evaluate the risk of deep percolation; and (4) to calculategross water productivity. A two-year study in a representative commercial field, planted with Prunus cerasifera ‘Nigra’, was carried out. The irrigation dose applied by the farmers was slightly smaller than the required water dose estimated by the use of two different methods: the first based on soil water content, and the second based on evapotranspiration. Distribution uniformity and application efficiency were high, with mean values above 87%. Soil water contentmeasurements revealed that even at the end of the furrow, where the infiltrated water depth was greatest, more than 90% of the infiltrated water was retained in the shallowest 40 cm of the soil; accordingly, the risk of water loss due to deep percolation was minimal. Gross water productivity for ornamental tree production was € 11.70 m–3, approximately 20 times higher than that obtained with maize in the same region

Irrigation performance and gross water productivity in furrow-irrigated ornamental tree production

In the ornamental plant production region of Girona (Spain), which is one of the largest of its kind in southern Europe, most of the surface is irrigated using wide blocked-end furrows. The objectives of this paper were: (1) to evaluate the irrigation scheduling methods used by ornamental plant producers; (2) to analyse different scenarios in order to assess how they affect irrigation performance; (3) to evaluate the risk of deep percolation; and (4) to calculate gross water productivity. A two-year study in a representative commercial field, planted with Prunus cerasifera ‘Nigra’, was carried out. The irrigation dose applied by the farmers was slightly smaller than the required water dose estimated by the use of two different methods: the first based on soil water content, and the second based on evapotranspiration. Distribution uniformity and application eff iciency were high, with mean values above 87%. Soil water content measurements revealed that even at the end of the furrow, where the infiltrated water depth was greatest, more than 90% of the infiltrated water was retained in the shallowest 40 cm of the soil; accordingly, the risk of water loss due to deep percolation was minimal. Gross water productivity for ornamental tree production was € 11.70 m–3, approximately 20 times higher than that obtained with maize in the same region.

The El Masnou Infralittoral sedimentary environment (Barcelona province, NW Mediterranean Sea): morphology and Holocene seismic stratigraphy

A detailed analysis of the morphology and the Holocene seismic and sequence stratigraphy and architecture of the infralittoral sedimentary environment of the El Masnou coast (Catalonia, NW Mediterranean Sea) was carried out using multibeam bathymetry and GeoPulse seismic data. This environment extends down to 26-30 m water depth, and is defined morphologically by two depositional wedges whose seafloor is affected by erosive furrows, slides, fields of large- and small-scale wavy bedforms, and dredging trenches and pits. Erosive terraces are also identified in the transition domain toward the inner continental shelf. The Holocene stratigraphy of the infralittoral environment is defined by two major seismic sequences (lower and upper), each one formed by internal seismic units. The sequences and units are characterised by downlapping surfaces made up of deposits formed by progradation of coastal lithosomes. The stratigraphy and stratal architecture, displaying a retrogradational arrangement with progradational patterns of minor order, were controlled by different sea-level positions. The stratigraphic division represents the coastal response to the last fourth-order transgressive and highstand conditions, modulated by small-scale sea-level oscillations (≈1-2 m) of fith to sixth order. This study also highlights the advantage of an integrated analysis using acoustic/seismic methods for practical assessment of the anthropogenic effects on infralittoral domains based on the association of marine geological observations.