Characterizing Crop Water Use Dynamics in the Central Valley of California Using Landsat-Derived Evapotranspiration

Understanding how different crops use water over time is essential for planning and managing water allocation, water rights, and agricultural production. The main objective of this paper is to characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics of crop water use in the Central Valley of California using Landsa...

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Main Authors: Matthew Schauer, Gabriel B. Senay
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-07-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/11/15/1782
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spelling doaj-f4e614f9abf542a8ad21d92c7506a85b2020-11-24T21:21:38ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922019-07-011115178210.3390/rs11151782rs11151782Characterizing Crop Water Use Dynamics in the Central Valley of California Using Landsat-Derived EvapotranspirationMatthew Schauer0Gabriel B. Senay1Innovate! Inc.—Contractor to the U.S. Geological Survey, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, USAU.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USAUnderstanding how different crops use water over time is essential for planning and managing water allocation, water rights, and agricultural production. The main objective of this paper is to characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics of crop water use in the Central Valley of California using Landsat-based annual actual evapotranspiration (<i>ETa</i>) from 2008 to 2018 derived from the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) model. Crop water use for 10 crops is characterized at multiple scales. The Mann&#8722;Kendall trend analysis revealed a significant increase in area cultivated with almonds and their water use, with an annual rate of change of 16,327 ha in area and 13,488 ha-m in water use. Conversely, alfalfa showed a significant decline with 12,429 ha in area and 13,901 ha-m in water use per year during the same period. A pixel-based Mann&#8722;Kendall trend analysis showed the changing crop type and water use at the level of individual fields for all of Kern County in the Central Valley. This study demonstrates the useful application of historical Landsat ET to produce relevant water management information. Similar studies can be conducted at regional and global scales to understand and quantify the relationships between land cover change and its impact on water use.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/11/15/1782evapotranspirationcrop water useCentral ValleyLandsatSSEBop modelthermal remote sensingwater resources
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Matthew Schauer
Gabriel B. Senay
spellingShingle Matthew Schauer
Gabriel B. Senay
Characterizing Crop Water Use Dynamics in the Central Valley of California Using Landsat-Derived Evapotranspiration
Remote Sensing
evapotranspiration
crop water use
Central Valley
Landsat
SSEBop model
thermal remote sensing
water resources
author_facet Matthew Schauer
Gabriel B. Senay
author_sort Matthew Schauer
title Characterizing Crop Water Use Dynamics in the Central Valley of California Using Landsat-Derived Evapotranspiration
title_short Characterizing Crop Water Use Dynamics in the Central Valley of California Using Landsat-Derived Evapotranspiration
title_full Characterizing Crop Water Use Dynamics in the Central Valley of California Using Landsat-Derived Evapotranspiration
title_fullStr Characterizing Crop Water Use Dynamics in the Central Valley of California Using Landsat-Derived Evapotranspiration
title_full_unstemmed Characterizing Crop Water Use Dynamics in the Central Valley of California Using Landsat-Derived Evapotranspiration
title_sort characterizing crop water use dynamics in the central valley of california using landsat-derived evapotranspiration
publisher MDPI AG
series Remote Sensing
issn 2072-4292
publishDate 2019-07-01
description Understanding how different crops use water over time is essential for planning and managing water allocation, water rights, and agricultural production. The main objective of this paper is to characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics of crop water use in the Central Valley of California using Landsat-based annual actual evapotranspiration (<i>ETa</i>) from 2008 to 2018 derived from the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) model. Crop water use for 10 crops is characterized at multiple scales. The Mann&#8722;Kendall trend analysis revealed a significant increase in area cultivated with almonds and their water use, with an annual rate of change of 16,327 ha in area and 13,488 ha-m in water use. Conversely, alfalfa showed a significant decline with 12,429 ha in area and 13,901 ha-m in water use per year during the same period. A pixel-based Mann&#8722;Kendall trend analysis showed the changing crop type and water use at the level of individual fields for all of Kern County in the Central Valley. This study demonstrates the useful application of historical Landsat ET to produce relevant water management information. Similar studies can be conducted at regional and global scales to understand and quantify the relationships between land cover change and its impact on water use.
topic evapotranspiration
crop water use
Central Valley
Landsat
SSEBop model
thermal remote sensing
water resources
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/11/15/1782
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AT gabrielbsenay characterizingcropwaterusedynamicsinthecentralvalleyofcaliforniausinglandsatderivedevapotranspiration
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