Irrigation Sciences and Engineering

Irrigation Sciences and Engineering

Investigation of Changes in the Green and Blue Water Footprint of Wheat in Drought and Rainy Seasons (A Case Study on Wheat under the Dez Irrigation Network, Southwestern Iran)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Mahkameh Mansoouri 1
Esfandiar Fateh 2
Amir Aynehband 2
Ali Shahbazi 3
1 PhD student in Agrotechnology, Department of Plant Production and Genetics, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.
2 Department of Plant Production and Genetics, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.
3 Deputy Director of Basic Studies of Water Resources, Khuzestan Water and Power Authority (KWPA)
10.22055/jise.2025.49468.2162
Abstract
Water resource management in agriculture, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, is a major global challenge. This study examines the impact of drought and wet periods on the blue water footprint (WFblue) and green water footprint (WFgreen) of wheat within the Dez irrigation network in Southwest Iran (1993–2023). The objective is to analyze variations in the water footprint using 30 years of meteorological data, wheat yield, and water input to the Dez network. Data were evaluated through WFblue/WFgreen models and ANOVA Results show that severe drought significantly increases WFblue by approximately 121.07% (375.20 m3ton-1) compared to the normal condition (169.59 m3ton-1), while reducing WFgreen, exerting substantial stress on groundwater and surface water resources. Variance analysis indicates that drought indices (RDI, SPI) significantly affect water resources, with SPI as the primary driver of variability. This study builds on Hoekstra’s water footprint theory by integrating adaptive management strategies for drought and wet periods, emphasizing temporal variations in water use. The findings highlight the urgent need for smart water management and advanced meteorological forecasting to guide policies that mitigate drought impacts and enhance water-use efficiency.
Keywords
Blue water footprint
Green water footprint
Drought indices
Water resource management
Subjects

  • 1-  Abramowitz, M. and Stegun, I.A., 1965. With formulas, graphs, and mathematical tables. National Bureau of Standards Applied Mathematics Series. e, 55, p.953.

     

    • Allen, R. G., Pereira, L. S., Raes, D., & Smith, M. 1998. Crop evapotranspiration: Guidelines for computing crop water requirements (FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56). Food and Agriculture Organization.

     

    3-       Borzoo, F., Ramezani Etedali, H., Kaviani, A., and Kalanaki, M.2024. Investigating green water footprint in spring wheat under climate change conditions and different crop dates. Iranian Journal of irrigation and drainage, 18(3),pp. 393-408.

    4- Burton, M. 2010. Irrigation management principles and practices. CABI Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1079/9781845935160.0000

     

    5- Fisher, D.K. and Pringle III, H.C., 2013. Evaluation of alternative methods for estimating reference evapotranspiration. Agricultural Sciences, 4(8), pp.51-60. https://doi.org/10.4236/as.2013.48A008

     

    6- Hargreaves, G. H., & Samani, Z. A. 1985. Reference crop evapotranspiration from temperature. Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 1 (2), 96–99. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.26773.

     

    7-Hayes, M. J., Alvord, C., & Lowrey, J. 2007. Drought indices. Intermountain West Climate Summary, 3 (6), 2–6.

     

    8- Hoekstra, A. Y., Chapagain, A. K., Aldaya, M. M., & Mekonnen, M. M. (2011). The water footprint assessment manual: Setting the global standard. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781849775526

     

    9- McKee, T. B., Doesken, N. J., & Kleist, J. 1993. The relationship of drought frequency and duration to time scale. In Proceedings of the Eighth Conference on Applied Climatology (pp. 179–184). American Meteorological Society.

     

    10- Nalbantis, I., & Tsakiris, G. 2009. Assessment of hydrological drought revisited. *Water Resources Management, 23(5), 881–897. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-008-9305-1.

     

    11- Panahi, F., & Malik Muhammadi, A. 2008. Optimization of agricultural water in the region. In Proceedings of the National Conference on Water Harvesting (pp. 489–498). (In Persian).

     

    12- Ramezani Etedali, H., Kalanaki, M., & van Oel, P. 2022. Evaluation of future climate component changes from north to southwest Iran. Journal of Ecohydrology, 9(2), 373–386. https://doi.org/10.22059/ije.2022.90424.

     

    13- Salarian, M. 2014. Development of water resources and transformations in modern irrigation. *Water Harvesting Journal, 2, 83–90. (In Persian).

     

    14- Thom, H. C. S. 1958. A note on the gamma distribution. Monthly Weather Review, 86(4), 117–122. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1958)086<0117:ANOTGD>2.0.CO;2.

     

    15- Tsakiris, G., Loukas, A., Pangalou, D., Vangelis, H., Tigkas, D., Rossi, G., & Cancelliere, A. 2007. Drought characterization. In A. Iglesias et al. (Eds.), Drought Management Guidelines Technical Annex (pp. 85–102). CIHEAM / ECMEDA Water, Zaragoza.

     

    16- Tsakiris, G., Nalbantis, I., Pangalou, D., Tigkas, D., & Vangelis, H. 2008. Drought meteorological monitoring network design for the reconnaissance drought index (RDI). In A. Franco Lopez (Ed.), Proceedings of the 1st International Conference “Drought Management: Scientific and Technological Innovations” (pp. 57–62). Zaragoza, Spain: Option Méditerranéennes, Series A, No. 80, 12-14 June 2008.

     

    17- Vangelis, H., Tigkas, D., & Tsakiris, G. 2013. The effect of PET method on Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI) calculation. Journal of Arid Environments, 88, 130–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2012.09.002.

     

    18- Veettil, A. V., & Mishra, A. K. 2016. Water security assessment using blue and green water footprint concepts. Journal of Hydrology, 542, 589–602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.09.034

Irrigation Sciences and Engineering
Volume 48, Issue 4
Winter 2026
Pages 49-64

  • Receive Date 22 April 2025
  • Revise Date 10 June 2025
  • Accept Date 18 June 2025
  • Publish Date 04 January 2026