Editorial—Managing and Planning Water Resources for Irrigation: Smart-Irrigation Systems for Providing Sustainable Agriculture and Maintaining Ecosystem Services

• Published in: Water (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 263
• Main Authors: Masseroni, Daniele, Arbat, Gerard, de Lima, Isabel Pedroso
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-01-2020
• Subjects: Agricultural ecosystems; Agricultural production; Agriculture; agro-hydrological models; automatic and remote-controlled systems for irrigation; Canals; Decision support systems; Ecosystem services; Efficiency; Environmental management; Evapotranspiration; evapotranspiration models and measurements; Hydrology; Irrigation; Irrigation systems; Irrigation water; irrigation with marginal water; Methods; Natural resources; open-source and low-cost monitoring devices; Remote sensing; Satellite imagery; Satellites; smart-irrigation practices; Soil conservation; Soil erosion; soil health; Sustainable agriculture; Water conservation; Water management; Water resources; Water resources management; Water shortages; Weather; Italy
• ISSN: 2073-4441; 2073-4441
• DOI: 10.3390/w12010263

Smart-irrigation systems are a hot topic in irrigation management. Satellite imaging, sensors and controls, communication technologies and irrigation decision models are readily available. The price of the required technology is being reduced year after year, and its implementation in agriculture gives real-time information that allows for more accurate management of water resources. Even so, the adaptation of existing technologies to particular situations that the irrigation management is facing in different agro-environmental contexts is needed. This Special Issue addresses the application of different smart-irrigation technologies in four different research areas: (1) remote sensing-based estimates of crop evapotranspiration, (2) Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for smart-irrigation, (3) precision irrigation models and controls, and (4) the price of natural resources. The nine papers presented in this special issue cover a wide range of practical applications, and this editorial summarizes each of them.