Assessment of irrigation performance and water productivity in irrigated areas of the middle Heihe River basin using a distributed agro-hydrological model

• A distributed agro-hydrological model was developed by coupling SWAP-EPIC and GIS.
• The model was calibrated on a regional scale with data of Yingke Irrigation District.
• Agro-hydrological processes, water use and water productivity were spatially assessed.
• Main problems refer to deep percolation, poor canal regulation and delivery scheduling.
• Water-saving needs improved irrigation methods and scheduling and canal management.

Irrigation is essential for agriculture in the middle Heihe River basin, Northwest China, due to water scarcity and dryness of climate. The diverted river water for agriculture is being gradually reduced which requires an increased water use performance to meet crop water requirements and to maintain crop yields. It is therefore crucial to better know about the present agro-hydrological processes, irrigation performance and water productivity, and to further investigate the potential water saving on a regional scale. In this study, a distributed agro-hydrological model was developed by close coupling of an agro-hydrological model (SWAP-EPIC) and ArcInfo geographic information system. Combined effects of weather, crop, soil and irrigation factors were considered. The Yingke Irrigation District (YID), in the middle Heihe River basin, was chosen as case study, where experiments were conducted at both field and regional scales in 2012–2013. Parameters relative to soils and crops were first calibrated with field observed data and the model was later used in a distributed manner to simulate the agro-hydrological process of YID. Results showed that water productivity was spatially varied and quite small due to excessive irrigation water use. Crop evapotranspiration averaged 589 mm and deep percolation was 125 mm on average, which accounted for 21% of total irrigation. Analysis of the target scenario simulation indicated that the improvement of water conveyance and irrigation scheduling could lead to a 30% reduction of deep percolation, and save 15% of irrigation water without negative effects on crop yields.