5th UF Water Institute Symposium Abstract

   
Submitter's Name Conrado De Leon
Session Name Poster Session - Water & Nutrients in Managed Landscapes
Poster Number 51
 
Author(s) Conrado  De Leon,  M.S Student, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (Presenting Author)
  Kati  Migliaccio,  Professor, Agricultural and Biological Engineering
  Michael  Dukes, Professor, Agricultural and Biological Engineering
  Kelly Morgan, Department of Soil & Water Science, University of Florida
  Hartwig Hochmair, Geomatics Program, University of Florida
   
  Comparison of Irrigation Allocation Models for Estimating Agricultural Water Requirements in Florida Considering the Influence of Precipitation Data Type
   
  Irrigation models in Florida use different climate data to estimate the amount of water needed by plants to satisfy crop water requirements. Crop water requirements refer to the amount of water needed to satisfy the loss of water due to evapotranspiration, considering precipitation and irrigated water required for an optimal crop yield and an efficient use of water resources. Hence, rainfall variability and quality of rainfall data are influential factors to be considered in the estimation of irrigation requirements in Florida. An evaluation of different rainfall data sets and their effects on irrigation requirements will be performed with two models used by the Florida Water Management Districts. We will use the Agricultural Field Scale Irrigation Requirement Simulation (AFSIRS) model, and the Agricultural Water Use Model (AGMOD) to estimate crop water requirements in agricultural farms in Florida. Water requirements in AFSIRS are calculated with the Penman-Monteith evapotranspiration method, while climate input data are historical rainfall records from nine stations in and near the state of Florida. AGMOD uses a modification of the Blaney-Criddle equation to estimate potential evapotranspiration and historical rainfall data are obtained from the Southwest Florida Water Management District weather network, or from monthly rainfall estimations defined by the user. We will modify model input rainfall data sets with historical data of the Florida Automated Weather Network and with multi-sensor radar and rain gauge estimates from the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to compare output estimations of water requirements from the two models. The results of this study will evaluate the effects of rainfall distribution and source of rainfall data and the potential differences on irrigation requirements and water allocation according to the two different models.