Water requirement

Indicator Assessment

Prod-ID: IND-200-en

Also known as: CLIM 033

expired Created 08 Sep 2008 Published 08 Sep 2008 Last modified 25 Aug 2017

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Between 1975 and 2006 clear trends, both positive and negative, were evident in water requirement across Europe, with marked spatial variability. A significant increase in water demand (50-70 %) occurred mainly in Mediterranean areas; large decreases were recorded mainly in northern and central European regions. Current trends and future scenarios depict an increase in the demand for water in agriculture, potentially increasing competition for water between sectors and uses.

Update planned for November 2012

Key messages

Between 1975 and 2006 clear trends, both positive and negative, were evident in water requirement across Europe, with marked spatial variability. A significant increase in water demand (50-70 %) occurred mainly in Mediterranean areas; large decreases were recorded mainly in northern and central European regions.
Current trends and future scenarios depict an increase in the demand for water in agriculture, potentially increasing competition for water between sectors and uses.

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Meteorological water balance in selected parts of Europe 1975-2007

Note: Surplus means positive values of meteorological water balance.

Data source:

Genovese, G. (ed.), 2004a. Methodology of the MARS Crop Yield Forecasting System. Vol. 1 to Vol. 4, EUR-report 21291 EN.
Genovese, G., 2004b. Methodology of the MARS Crop Yield Forecasting System. EUR 21291 EN/14. http://mars.jrc. it/marsstat/Crop_Yield_Forecasting/METAMP/.

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Rate of change of the meteorological water balance 1975-2007

Note: The rate of change of the 'meteorological water balance', expressed in m3 ha-1 y-1 The map provides an estimate of the increase (red in the map) or decrease (blue in the map) of the volume of water required from irrigation in order to ensure that crop growth is not limited by water stress.

Data source:

Downloads and more info

Past trends

Systematic observations of water demand for agriculture do not exist at the European scale, however local trends can be reconstructed by using meteorological data. On average, the rate of increase in water demand is around 50 m³/ha/year, but in some cases (Italy, Greece, Maghreb, central Spain, southern France and Germany) it is more than 150-200 m³/ha/year. Areas with upward trends in the water balance (due mainly to an increase in rainfall), have been observed in the Balkan Peninsula, the Alpine region, Scandinavia, Scotland, Benelux, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary, as well as in many Turkish areas. In the Mediterranean area, a worsening meteorological water deficit (declining water balance) has been observed over the past 32 years.

Projections

No quantitative projections of irrigation demand are available. Many climatic projections for Europe (IPCC, 2007) foresee a very likely precipitation increase in the north and a decrease in the south, especially during the summer. Also the extremes of daily precipitation are projected to increase in the north and the annual number of rainy days to decrease in the Mediterranean.
The risk of summer drought is therefore likely to increase in central Europe and in the Mediterranean area. Agricultural crops will be affected, among other factors, in positive and negative ways by changes in the length and timing of the vegetative cycle. Crop management will have to be adapted in order to try to avoid crucial development stages sensitive to water-stress (flowering, grain filling, etc.) occurring during generally dry periods.

Indicator specification and metadata

Indicator definition

Rate of change of the meteorological water balance 1975-2007
Meteorological water balance in selected parts of Europe 1975-2007

Units

http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/eea_report_2008_4/pp111-148CC2008_ch5-7to9_Terrestrial_ecosystems_soil_and_agriculture.pdf

Rationale

Justification for indicator selection

Climate change may affect agriculture primarily through increasing atmospheric CO₂, rising temperatures and changing rainfall. Where rainfall does not limit crop growth, these conditions allow for earlier sowing dates and enhanced crop growth and yield (see previous indicators). Where reduced rainfall is predicted, however, the increased requirement for irrigation water can have an overall negative impact in economic and environmental terms. In these areas, increased water shortages are expected to increase competition for water between sectors (tourism, agriculture, energy, etc.) particularly in southern Europe where the agricultural demand for water is greatest. Several adaptation options are available to mitigate the risks of water shortage. Increased irrigation can further burden surface and groundwater resources and increase greenhouse gas emissions, adding to the mitigation challenge.

Scientific references

No rationale references available

Policy context and targets

Context description

In April 2009 the European Commission presented a White Paper on the framework for adaptation policies and measures to reduce the European Union's vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. The aim is to increase the resilience to climate change of health, property and the productive functions of land, inter alia by improving the management of water resources and ecosystems. More knowledge is needed on climate impact and vulnerability but a considerable amount of information and research already exists which can be shared better through a proposed Clearing House Mechanism. The White Paper stresses the need to mainstream adaptation into existing and new EU policies. A number of Member States have already taken action and several have prepared national adaptation plans. The EU is also developing actions to enhance and finance adaptation in developing countries as part of a new post-2012 global climate agreement expected in Copenhagen (Dec. 2009). For more information see: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/adaptation/index_en.htm

Targets

No targets have been specified

Methodology

Methodology for indicator calculation

http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/eea_report_2008_4/pp111-148CC2008_ch5-7to9_Terrestrial_ecosystems_soil_and_agriculture.pdf

Methodology for gap filling

http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/eea_report_2008_4/pp193-207CC2008_ch8_Data_gaps.pdf

Methodology references

No methodology references available.

Uncertainties

Methodology uncertainty

http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/eea_report_2008_4/pp193-207CC2008_ch8_Data_gaps.pdf

Data sets uncertainty

http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/eea_report_2008_4/pp193-207CC2008_ch8_Data_gaps.pdf

Rationale uncertainty

No uncertainty has been specified

Data sources

Monitoring Agricultural ResourceS (MARS)
provided by Joint Research Centre (JRC)

Metadata

Topics:

Climate change adaptation , Agriculture

Tags:

precipitation , climate , climate change , evaporation , water , agriculture

DPSIR: Impact
Typology: Descriptive indicator (Type A - What is happening to the environment and to humans?)

Indicator codes

CLIM 033

Temporal coverage:

1975-2007

Geographic coverage:

Countries

Albania , Austria , Belarus , Belgium , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Bulgaria , Croatia , Cyprus , Czech Republic , Denmark , Estonia , Finland , Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the , France , Germany , Greece , Hungary , Ireland , Italy , Latvia , Lithuania , Luxembourg , Malta , Montenegro , Netherlands , Poland , Portugal , Romania , Russia , Serbia , Slovakia , Slovenia , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , Turkey , Ukraine , United Kingdom

Geographical areas

Europe

Dates

First draft created:

08 Sep 2008, 12:00 AM

Publish date:

08 Sep 2008, 12:00 AM

Last modified:

25 Aug 2017, 11:51 AM

EEA Contact Info

Hans-Martin Füssel

Permalinks

Permalink to this version: 9cda9231bb0dff33f26f169f6cf81212
Permalink to latest version: IND-200-en

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For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/water-requirement/water-requirement-assessment-published-sep-2008 or scan the QR code.

PDF generated on 25 Mar 2019, 01:54 PM

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