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Implication of Geo-Informatics (GIS/RS) on Agricultural Irrigation Management: The State of the Art

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Sustainability of Agricultural Environment in Egypt: Part I

Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry ((HEC,volume 76))

Abstract

The agricultural sector is the highest water consumer worldwide. Its production is the essential pillar in world’s food security. Limited water resources are the major constraint in an agricultural production system. Better application of irrigation water will result in increased water and land productivity for the planted crops. Precision irrigation is one of the promising keys to solve this dilemma. It allows applying the exact needed amount of water in its optimal place at the right time. Yet, this requires a huge information database to be accurately able to apply precision irrigation. The traditional trial-and-error technique in agricultural experiments to improve land and water productivity is time-consuming and sometimes is economically unaffordable. Thus, there is a need to develop more cost-effective and accurate tools to correctly survey world’s natural resources and its most sustainable exploitation. Geo-informatics implication in combination with suitable decision support systems plays a relevant role in water management in agricultural sector, especially when applying precision irrigation and farming techniques.

This chapter aims to provide an overview about the implication of geo-informatics (with a special focus on geographic information systems and remote sensing) in irrigation water management on both local level (Egypt) and international level. Although geo-informatics applications for agricultural management have been used since the early 1980s, still there is a place for further research to maximize the benefits of its use. Public involvement is critically needed to ensure sustainability of applied water management programs using geo-informatics.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Water productivity is a term that refers to more output per unit of applied water.

  2. 2.

    WorldView-2 is a digital globe satellite sensor launched in 2009. It delivers a panchromatic mono- and stereo satellite image data of 0.46 m. More details could be encountered on https://www.satimagingcorp.com/satellite-sensors/worldview-2/.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Soil and Water Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Beni-Suef University, Beni Suef, Egypt

    Maha Elbana

  2. Soils and Water Use Department, National Research Centre (NRC), Cairo, Egypt

    Noura Bakr

  3. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations’ Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa Region, Cairo, Egypt

    Fawzi Karajeh

Authors
  1. Maha Elbana
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  2. Noura Bakr
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  3. Fawzi Karajeh
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maha Elbana .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt

    Abdelazim M. Negm

  2. Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt

    Mohamed Abu-hashim

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Elbana, M., Bakr, N., Karajeh, F. (2017). Implication of Geo-Informatics (GIS/RS) on Agricultural Irrigation Management: The State of the Art. In: Negm, A.M., Abu-hashim, M. (eds) Sustainability of Agricultural Environment in Egypt: Part I. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 76. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2017_174

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