Date of Award

6-1-2012

Document Type

Campus Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Environmental Sciences/Environmental, Earth & Ocean Sciences

First Advisor

Ellen M. Douglas

Second Advisor

James F. Limbrunner

Third Advisor

David S. Timmons

Abstract

Irrigation is an important agricultural practice that has been used for thousands of years to supply water where it is needed to grow crops. With an increasing global population there is an increased demand for food, and therefore an increased demand for agriculture to provide a sufficient food supply. To achieve sustainable irrigation, an appropriate balance between the environmental, economic and societal realms in the present and in the future is required.Throughout history, the environmental realm has often been ignored and therefore sustainable conditions have not been established. Irrigation has provided many economic and societal benefits but not without environmental consequences. The accumulation of salt in the soils used for growing crops is one such consequence resulting from improper water and land management strategies. In order to address the complexities involved in the implementation of sustainable management decisions, a computer model (SaltWBM) has been developed which quantifies the long-term environmental impact from irrigation based on climatic data and soil characteristics.

Comments

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