Key physical characteristics used to assess water harvesting suitability

Abstract Water harvesting (WH) techniques, which aim to increase water availability to crops, have long been used in arid and semi-arid areas to decrease the risk of reduced yields and crop failures due to dry spells. The landscape conditions dictate the type of WH system that can be implemented as well as the quantity and quality of water that will be collected. The measurement and understanding of how these landscape characteristics influence the hydrological function of WH systems is important and essential for further studies which seek to understand and enhance efficiency, extend uptake and model the impacts of WH within a catchment. However, commonly used guidelines often only prescribe optimal conditions for WH which results in many sites which may be suitable being over looked. Various statistical analyses was performed on 28 WH sites gathered from the available literature to try and identify whether the landscape conditions under which WH is currently taking place differs to the recommended guidelines. The results show that WH is taking place under a much broader range of conditions than those recommended by the guidelines. The recommendations for minimum and maximum slope in particular are too restrictive, with examples of successful WH taking place on slopes much steeper than the stipulated guidelines. A new set of guidelines are suggested, which take into account not only optimal conditions but also a range of suitable conditions on either side of the optimal range.

[1]  Atef A. Qaddah,et al.  Determining Potential Sites for Runoff Water Harvesting using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems-Based Modeling in Sinai , 2012 .

[2]  P. Zaag,et al.  Smallholder system innovation for integrated watershed management in Sub-Saharan Africa , 2011 .

[3]  Gunnar Lischeid,et al.  Understanding processes governing water quality in catchments using principal component scores , 2013 .

[4]  W. Rawls,et al.  Estimating generalized soil-water characteristics from texture , 1986 .

[5]  Aklilu Amsalu,et al.  Factors influencing adoption and continued use of long-term soil and water conservation measures in five developing countries , 2008 .

[6]  Horia F. Pop,et al.  Principal component analysis versus fuzzy principal component analysis A case study: the quality of danube water (1985-1996). , 2005, Talanta.

[7]  Graham Jewitt,et al.  Predicting plot-scale water infiltration using the correlation between soil apparent electrical resistivity and various soil properties , 2011 .

[8]  Adriana Bruggeman,et al.  A Participatory GIS Approach for Assessing Land Suitability for Rainwater Harvesting in an Arid Rangeland Environment , 2012 .

[9]  Dennis L. Jackson.  Sample Size and Number of Parameter Estimates in Maximum Likelihood Confirmatory Factor Analysis: A Monte Carlo Investigation , 2001 .

[10]  W. Critchley,et al.  Water Harvesting : A Manual for the Design and Construction of Water Harvesting Schemes for Plant Production , 2013 .

[11]  P. Podwojewski,et al.  Digital mapping of A-horizon thickness using the correlation between various soil properties and soil apparent electrical resistivity , 2010 .

[12]  Charlotte de Fraiture,et al.  Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture , 2010 .

[13]  M. Esteller,et al.  Application of principal components analysis to the study of salinization on the Castellon Plain (Spain) , 1996 .

[14]  K. D. Sharma,et al.  Estimation of water harvesting potential for a semiarid area using GIS and remote sensing , 1997 .

[15]  T. Oweis,et al.  Indigenous water harvesting systems in West Asia and North Africa , 2004 .

[16]  Huib Hengsdijk,et al.  Modeling the effect of three soil and water conservation practices in Tigray, Ethiopia , 2005 .

[17]  Mark Horan,et al.  A GIS-based approach for identifying potential runoff harvesting sites in the Thukela River basin, South Africa , 2007 .

[18]  K. Siegert,et al.  Introduction to water harvesting: some basic principles for planning, design and monitoring , 1994 .

[19]  D. Ramakrishnan,et al.  SCS-CN and GIS-based approach for identifying potential water harvesting sites in the Kali Watershed, Mahi River Basin, India , 2009 .

[20]  P. Wieringa,et al.  Exploratory Factor Analysis With Small Sample Sizes , 2009, Multivariate behavioral research.

[21]  Jean Thioulouse,et al.  The ade4 package - I : One-table methods , 2004 .

[22]  Ninad Bodhankar.  Application of vectors for suitability of landforms in siting surface water harvesting structures , 2003 .

[23]  Johan Rockström,et al.  WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN SMALLHOLDER FARMS IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA : AN OVERVIEW , 2000 .

[24]  Gert A. Schultz,et al.  Remote sensing and geographic information systems for design and operation of water resources systems , 1997 .

[25]  Akpofure E. Taigbenu,et al.  A GIS-based decision support system for rainwater harvesting (RHADESS) , 2009 .

[26]  C. Kessler.  Motivating farmers for soil and water conservation: A promising strategy from the Bolivian mountain valleys , 2007 .

[27]  R. Cattell.  The Scientific Use of Factor Analysis in Behavioral and Life Sciences , 2012 .

[28]  Siza D. Tumbo,et al.  Indigenous knowledge as decision support tool in rainwater harvesting , 2005 .

[29]  Sunil Kumar Singh,et al.  Water Balance Approach for Rainwater Harvesting using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques, Jammu Himalaya, India , 2009 .

[30]  James P. Verdin,et al.  Developing index maps of water-harvest potential in Africa , 2004 .

[31]  V. N. Sharda,et al.  Rainwater-use efficiency of tea (Camellia sinensis (L.)) under different conservation measures in the high hills of south India , 2011 .

[32]  Majed Abu-Zreig,et al.  Field evaluation of sand-ditch water harvesting technique in Jordan , 2011 .

[33]  A. Kessler,et al.  Decisive key-factors influencing farm households' soil and water conservation investments , 2006 .

[34]  P. K. Litoria,et al.  Selection of suitable sites for water harvesting structures in Soankhad watershed, Punjab using remote sensing and geographical information system (RS&GIS) approach— A case study , 2009 .

[35]  K. Vohland,et al.  A review of in situ rainwater harvesting (RWH) practices modifying landscape functions in African drylands. , 2009 .

[36]  W. Arrindell,et al.  An Empirical Test of the Utility of the Observations-To-Variables Ratio in Factor and Components Analysis , 1985 .

[37]  R. MacCallum,et al.  Sample size in factor analysis. , 1999 .

[38]  Xiaoyun Li,et al.  Compacted microcatchments with local earth materials for rainwater harvesting in the semiarid region of China , 2002 .

[39]  Timothy O. Randhir,et al.  Policies for sustaining groundwater resources in India , 2007 .

[40]  J. Thioulouse,et al.  The ade 4 package-I : One-table methods by , 2004 .

[41]  G. Singh.  Soil water dynamics, growth of Dendrocalamus strictus and herbage productivity influenced by rainwater harvesting in Aravalli hills of Rajasthan , 2009 .

[42]  Rida Al-Adamat,et al.  Combining GIS with multicriteria decision making for siting water harvesting ponds in Northern Jordan. , 2010 .

[43]  D. Molden.  Water for food, water for life: a comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture , 2007 .

[44]  Odeh M Al-Meshan,et al.  The Combination of Indigenous Knowledge and Geo-Informatics for Water Harvesting Siting in the Jordanian Badia , 2012 .

[45]  Paul F. Burton,et al.  Electronic journals: a study of usage and attitudes among academics , 1998, J. Inf. Sci..

[46]  Timothy O. Randhir,et al.  Spatial assessment of conjunctive water harvesting potential in watershed systems , 2007 .

[47]  K. D. Durga Rao,et al.  Spatial Expert Support System in Selecting Suitable Sites for Water Harvesting Structures — A Case Study of Song Watershed, Uttaranchal, India , 2003 .

[48]  EX- POST EVALUATION OF EROSION CONTROL MEASURES IN SOUTHERN MALI , 2007 .

[49]  H. Mahoo,et al.  Review of rainwater harvesting techniques and evidence for their use in semi-arid Tanzania , 1999 .

[50]  Ajaykumar Kadam,et al.  Identifying Potential Rainwater Harvesting Sites of a Semi-arid, Basaltic Region of Western India, Using SCS-CN Method , 2012, Water Resources Management.

[51]  Yield and seasonal water productivity of sunflower as affected by tillage and cropping systems under dryland conditions in the Limpopo Province of South Africa , 2011 .

[52]  John Ngila Munyao.  USE OF SATELLITE PRODUCTS TO ASSESS WATER HARVESTING POTENTIAL IN REMOTE AREAS OF AFRICA A CASE STUDY OF UNGUJA ISLAND ZANZIBAR , 2010 .

[53]  T. Oweis,et al.  Rainwater harvesting for dry land agriculture - developing a methodology based on remote sensing and GIS , 1998 .

[54]  J. Osborne,et al.  Sample size and subject to item ratio in principal components analysis. , 2004 .

[55]  A. Chappell,et al.  Indigenous views of soil erosion at Fandou Béri, southwestern Niger , 2003 .

[56]  J. Rockström,et al.  Assessment of rainwater retention in agricultural land and crop yield increase due to conservation tillage in Ewaso Ng’iro river basin, Kenya , 2006 .