Irrigation planning in the context of climate change

Abstract

In this article, we present a simple mathematical model that will help us to optimize the control of irrigation in field of potatoes in the Lisbon area. It is well known that the Iberian Peninsula is going to be one of the most affected by climate change (lack of water will increase and prolonged periods of drought as can be read in the last Assessment Report by IPPCC), and therefore, irrigation needs to be intelligent in such a way that water is saved. The model presented is simple and still far from reality. It was implemented in MatLab and the results look promising. The lack of data, however was a problem. Still, the model can improve greatly, once we implement a project we have, that will use a real field with instruments that will give us readings in site and on line.