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|Document Type: ||Report|
|Title: ||Sustainable water resources: A framework for assessing adaptation options in the
rural sector. |
|Authors: ||Weatherhead, E. K.|
Knox, Jerry W.
de Vries, T. T.
Arnell, N. W.
|Issue Date: ||2005|
|Citation: ||Weatherhead E.K., Knox J.W., de Vries T.T., Ramsden S., Gibbons J., Arnell N.W., Odoni N.,
Hiscock K., Sandhu C., Saich A., Conway D., Warwick C., Bharwani S., Hossell J., and Clemence B. (2005) Sustainable water resources: A framework for assessing adaptation options in the rural sector. Tyndall Centre Technical Report 44, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, UEA, Norwich.|
|Abstract: ||Abstract. This project developed a framework to assess how the irrigated
agriculture and turf grass leisure sectors in England could adapt to climate
change impacts on water resources. Two catchments (the Nar and Wensum) in East
Anglia provided case studies for hydrological, crop yield and land-use
modelling; farmer interviews were held across East Anglia, and the golf sector
study covered England and Wales. Future climate scenarios were developed from
the UKCIP02 dataset, using the high and low emission scenarios for the 2020s and
2050s. For all these scenarios, hydrological modelling showed, even by the
2020s, groundwater recharge is reduced, ground water levels are lower, and both
summer and winter river flows fall despite higher winter rainfall. These changes
imply major reductions in water available for abstraction and its reliability.
It would be impossible to meet the current environmental river flow objectives
even without abstraction. Crop yield and land use modelling suggested that
farmers will still grow high value irrigated crops such as potatoes and field-
scale vegetables. If water resources are limited, they will reduce irrigation of
other crops and invest in farm reservoirs, using winter abstraction. However,
the extra costs will reduce farm net margins, and make farm businesses more
vulnerable. Farmer interviews confirmed that cropping changes and reservoirs are
the preferred adaptations. A prototype knowledge elicitation tool was developed
to improve understanding of farmer behaviour. A survey of golf course irrigation
in England and Wales revealed courses are about equally split between using
mains water and direct abstraction. If water is limited, many could adapt by
restricting irrigation to greens and tees; others could use reservoirs, re-use
and water harvesting. However, client/member pressure is for fully irrigated
surfaces. Overall, the study revealed that adaptations options do exist, albeit
with costs. Better information on the climate impacts and careful regulation
would reduce the risks of users adopting individual adaptations that are not
optimal overall and/or inappropriate.|
|Appears in Collections:||Staff publications - School of Applied Sciences|
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