A Modelling Solution for Developing and Evaluating Agricultural Land-Use Scenarios in Water Scarcity Contexts

Lucie Clavel, Marie-Hélène Charron, Olivier Therond and Delphine Leenhardt ()

Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), 2012, vol. 26, issue 9, 2625-2641

Abstract: To meet sustainability challenges, regional water management and planning require approaches that assess the land-use visions of various stakeholders using their own evaluation criteria. Models and information systems are keystones in such integrated assessment activities. SPACSS (the SPAtial Cropping System Scenarios builder and evaluator) is a modelling solution that aims to help decision-makers evaluate normative land-use scenarios. A prototype of SPACSS was developed to explore concerns raised by a dam-building project in south-western France, specifically the relation between cropping system distribution and water uptake. This paper presents the initial steps of SPACSS development by scientists and agricultural experts and its evaluation by users through alternative scenarios of maize cropping (altering either its precocity or management to reduce irrigation). SPACSS can represent a wide range of land-use scenarios and aggregate impact indicators at several spatial and temporal scales. Although SPACSS served as a solid support for discussions with stakeholders and decision-makers, it needs modifications to represent more realistic, and thus more complex, land-use scenarios. These modifications will make SPACSS potentially valuable for dealing with a variety of issues concerning agricultural landscapes, far beyond the single question of quantitative water management. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

Keywords: Scenario; Cropping systems; Spatial distribution; Water planning; Land planning; Indicators (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11269-012-0037-x (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:waterr:v:26:y:2012:i:9:p:2625-2641

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/11269

DOI: 10.1007/s11269-012-0037-x

Access Statistics for this article

Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA) is currently edited by G. Tsakiris

More articles in Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA) from Springer, European Water Resources Association (EWRA)
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().