Your search found 16 records
1 McCartney, Matthew P.; Shiferaw, A.; Seleshi, Y. 2008. Estimating environmental flow requirements downstream of the Chara Chara weir on the Blue Nile River. In Abtew, W.; Melesse, A. M. (Eds.). Proceedings of the Workshop on Hydrology and Ecology of the Nile River Basin under Extreme Conditions, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 16-19 June 2008. Sandy, UT, USA: Aardvark Global Publishing. pp.57-75.
Water management ; River basin management ; Ecology ; Rivers ; Environmental flows ; Environmental effects ; Downstream ; Weirs ; Hydrology ; Models ; Ecosystems ; Water power / Africa / Ethiopia / Sudan / Blue Nile River / Abay River / Chara Chara Weir / Lake Tana
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 577.64 G100 MCC Record No: H041346)
(1.27 MB)
Over the last decade flow in the Abay River (i.e., the Blue Nile) has been modified by operation of the Chara Chara weir and diversions to the Tis Abay hydropower stations, located downstream of the rivers source, Lake Tana. The most conspicuous impact of these human interventions has been significantly reduced flows over the Tis Issat Falls. This paper presents the findings of a hydrological study conducted to estimate environmental flow requirements downstream of the weir. The South African desktop reserve model was used to determine both high and low flow requirements in the reach containing the Falls. The results indicate that to maintain the basic ecological functioning in this reach requires an average annual allocation of 862 Mm3 (i.e. equivalent to 22% of the mean annual flow). Under natural conditions there was considerable seasonal variation, but the absolute minimum mean monthly allocation, even in dry years, should not be less than approximately 10 Mm3 (i.e. 3.7 m3s-1). These estimates make no allowance for maintaining the aesthetic quality of the Falls, which are popular with tourists. The study demonstrated that, in the absence of ecological information, hydrological indices can be used to provide a first estimate of environmental water requirements. However, to ensure proper management, much greater understanding of the relationships between flow and the ecological condition of the riverine ecosystem is needed.
2 Shiferaw, A.; McCartney, Matthew; Seleshi, Y.; Woldu, Z. 2008. Impacts of the Chara Chara Weir and environmental implications at the source of the Blue Nile River, Ethiopia. In Humphreys, E.; Bayot, R. S.; van Brakel, M.; Gichuki, F.; Svendsen, M.; Wester, P.; Huber-Lee, A.; Cook, S. Douthwaite, B.; Hoanh, Chu Thai; Johnson, N.; Nguyen-Khoa, Sophie; Vidal, A.; MacIntyre, I.; MacIntyre, R. (Eds.). Fighting poverty through sustainable water use: proceedings of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food, 2nd International Forum on Water and Food, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 10-14 November 2008. Vol.3. Water benefits sharing for poverty alleviation and conflict management; Drivers and processes of change. Colombo, Sri Lanka: CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food. pp.75-78.
River basins ; Flow ; Weirs ; Dams ; Benefits ; Environmental impact assessment ; Social impact / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River / Tis Issat Falls / Chara Chara Weir / Lake Tana
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.91 G000 HUM Record No: H041680)
http://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/handle/10568/3708/IFWF2_proceedings_Volume%20III.pdf?sequence=1
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H041680.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H041680.pdf
3 Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; McCartney, Matthew; Steinhaus, T. 2008. Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian highlands and its impact on the downstream dependent on the Blue Nile. Paper presented at the Ethiopia National Nile Development Forum, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 20-21 March 2008. 12p.
River basin management ; Land management ; Irrigation programs ; Rain ; Runoff ; Models ; Water use ; Sedimentation ; Erosion / Ethiopia / Sudan / Egypt / Blue Nile River / Abbay Blue Nile River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H041757)
(0.42 MB)
4 White, E. D.; Easton, Z. M.; Fuka, D. R.; Collick, A. S.; Adgo, E.; McCartney, Matthew; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Selassie, Y. G.; Steenhuis, T. S. 2008. Adapting the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) for the Nile Basin. In Humphreys, E.; Bayot, R. S.; van Brakel, M.; Gichuki, F.; Svendsen, M.; Wester, P.; Huber-Lee, A.; Cook, S. Douthwaite, B.; Hoanh, Chu Thai; Johnson, N.; Nguyen-Khoa, Sophie; Vidal, A.; MacIntyre, I.; MacIntyre, R. (Eds.). Fighting poverty through sustainable water use: proceedings of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food, 2nd International Forum on Water and Food, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 10-14 November 2008. Vol.3. Water benefits sharing for poverty alleviation and conflict management; Drivers and processes of change. Colombo, Sri Lanka: CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food. pp.22-26.
River basin management ; Watershed management ; Soil management ; Assessment ; Simulation models ; Water balance ; Water quality ; Stream flow ; Sedimentation ; Infiltration ; Runoff ; Climate / Ethiopia / Nile River Basin / Blue Nile River / Lake Tana Watershed / Anjeni Watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.91 G000 HUM Record No: H041847)
http://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/handle/10568/3708/IFWF2_proceedings_Volume%20III.pdf?sequence=1
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H041847.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H041847.pdf
(0.19 MB) (4.879MB)
5 Shiferraw, A.; McCartney, Matthew. 2008. Investigating environmental flow requirements at the source of the Blue Nile River. Paper presented at the International Nile Basin Development Forum, Khartoum, Sudan, 3-5 November 2008. 14p.
Lakes ; Rivers ; Flow ; Hydrology ; Ecosystems ; Ecology ; Water allocation ; Weirs ; Water power ; Models / Ethiopia / Lake Tana / Blue Nile River / Abay River / Chara Chara Weir / Tis Abay Hydropower Station / Tis Issat Falls
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H041853)
(0.06 MB) (0.06 MB)
6 McCartney, Matthew; Shiferaw, A.; Seleshi, Y. 2009. Estimating environmental flow requirements downstream of the Chara Chara weir on the Blue Nile River. Hydrological Processes, 23:3751-3758. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7254]
Rivers ; Flow ; Ecosystems ; Dams ; Benefits ; Hydrology ; River basin management ; Models ; Environmental flows ; Water power ; Electrical energy ; Electricity supplies ; Water allocation / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River / Chara Chara weir / Tis Abay hydropower stations / Bahar Dar city / Tis Issat Falls / Lake Tana
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H042242)
(0.20 MB)
Over the last decade, flow in the Abay River (i.e. the Blue Nile) has been modified by operation of the Chara Chara weir and diversions to the Tis Abay hydropower stations, located downstream. The most conspicuous impact of these human interventions is significantly reduced flows over the Tis Issat Falls. This paper presents the findings of a hydrological study conducted to estimate environmental flow requirements downstream of the weir. The Desktop Reserve Model (DRM) was used to determine both high and low flow requirements in the reach containing the Falls. The results indicate that to maintain the basic ecological functioning in this reach requires an average annual allocation of 862 Mm3 (i.e. equivalent to 22% of the mean annual flow). Under natural conditions there was a considerable seasonal variation, but the absolute minimum mean monthly allocation, even in dry years, should not be less than approximately 10 Mm3 (i.e. 3Ð7 m3 s1). These estimates make no allowance for maintaining the aesthetic quality of the Falls, which are popular with tourists. The study demonstrated that, in the absence of ecological information, hydrological indices can be used to provide a preliminary estimate of environmental flow requirements. However, to ensure proper management, much greater understanding of the relationships between flow and the ecological condition of the river ecosystem is needed.
7 Bashar, K. E.; Mustafa, M. O. 2009. Water balance assessment of the Roseires Reservoir. In Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Erkossa, Teklu; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Fernando, Ashra (Comps.). Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian highlands: its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile. Intermediate Results Dissemination Workshop held at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 5-6 February 2009. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.38-49.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.9162 G100 AWU Record No: H042506)
(0.73 MB)
Roseires Reservoir on the Blue Nile River was completed in 1966 to serve the purposes of hydropower generation, irrigation and flood retention. During its lifetime, the reservoir suffered from serious sedimentation, to the limit that its present capacity is less than 2 cubic kilometers (km3). Operation of the reservoir is maintained closely together with the Sennar Dam according to the operation policy. Operation of reservoirs depends on rules set for that purpose, which is based mainly on the water balance of the system among other factors. Such rules are rarely revised during the lifetime of the reservoirs. Roseires is not an exception. This paper presents an attempt to look closely at the different aspects of the operation and water balance parameters to gain an insight into the whole operation of the reservoir. In addition, an attempt is also made to find an accurate balance formula for the system, taking into account the part of the intervening catchment (14,578 km2) that is totally ungauged. The flow from the Ethiopian Highlands is monitored at Eddeim Station. The mean annual rainfall in the area amounts to approximately 700 mm. The daily evaporation rates were derived from monthly data available in the operation rules of the Blue Nile reservoirs. The change in reservoir storage (?s), and surface area were computed from the bathymetric surveys conducted during 1985, 1992 and 2005. Water balance computations were carried out for 1985, 1995 and 2005, corresponding to the availability of data. The ten years bathymetric data survey intervals give enough time for changes in water balance to take place, if any. Daily and 10-day water balances were computed using Eddeim flow data as the only inflow to the reservoir for the whole year, and for the dry and rainy periods. It was found that outflow from the reservoir can be reproduced with an efficiency of 97% R2, indicating that the contribution of the intervening catchment to the inflows is negligible.
8 Ibrahim, Y. A.; Elnil, M. S. R.; Ahmed, A. A. 2009. Improving water management practices in the Rahad Scheme. In Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Erkossa, Teklu; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Fernando, Ashra (Comps.). Improved water and land management in the Ethiopian highlands: its impact on downstream stakeholders dependent on the Blue Nile. Intermediate Results Dissemination Workshop held at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 5-6 February 2009. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.50-69.
Irrigation Schemes ; Performance indexes ; Irrigation efficiency ; Canals ; Pumping / Sudan / Rahad Irrigation Scheme / Mena Pump Station / Blue Nile River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.9162 G100 AWU Record No: H042507)
(0.63 MB)
This study aims to investigate and develop proper operational water management tools for the Rahad irrigation scheme. The Rahad project is considered as being among one of the schemes that could have a huge potential for expansion in the near future after the heightening of the Roseires Dam. The water supply sources for the Rahad scheme are the Blue Nile River and the Rahad seasonal river. The study explores options of augmenting the supply from the Rahad River during the wet season with the goal of minimizing sedimentation problems on the supply canals, reducing operation and maintenance costs associated with the Mena pumping station. Crop water requirements for the Rahad scheme were computed based on the historical cultivated areas of the different crops for the period 2000-2004. The Water Delivery Performance (WDP) Indicator for the scheme was evaluated. Frequency analysis and flow duration curves for the historical records of the Rahad seasonal stream were conducted in order to establish the yield of the Rahad River at different assurance levels. It is found that the yield from the Rahad seasonal river with 90% assurance level could be adequate to maintain an optimum performance of the irrigation system. Such proposed water management tools would improve the WDP by more than 25%. The dependence on the Rahad River during the wet season to meet the project irrigation water demands is anticipated to significantly minimize the maintenance and operation cost of diverting water from the Blue Nile.
9 Steenhuis, T. S.; Collick, A. S.; Easton, Z. M.; Leggesse, E. S.; Bayabil, H. K.; White, E. D.; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Adgo, E.; Ahmed, A. A. 2009. Predicting discharge and sediment for the Abay (Blue Nile) with a simple model. Hydrological Processes, 23:3728-3737. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7513]
Simulation models ; Forecasting ; Erosion ; Sedimentation ; Calibration ; Water balance ; Rainfall-runoff relationships ; River basins ; Climate / Ethiopia / Sudan / Egypt / Abay River / Blue Nile River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H042576)
(0.28 MB)
Models accurately representing the underlying hydrological processes and sediment dynamics in the Nile Basin are necessary for optimum use of water resources. Previous research in the Abay (Blue Nile) has indicated that direct runoff is generated either from saturated areas at the lower portions of the hillslopes or from areas of exposed bedrock. Thus, models that are based on infiltration excess processes are not appropriate. Furthermore, many of these same models are developed for temperate climates and might not be suitable for monsoonal climates with distinct dry periods in the Nile Basin. The objective of this study is to develop simple hydrology and erosion models using saturation excess runoff principles and interflow processes appropriate for a monsoonal climate and a mountainous landscape. We developed a hydrology model using a water balance approach by dividing the landscape into variable saturated areas, exposed rock and hillslopes. Water balance models have been shown to simulate river flows well at intervals of 5 days or longer when the main runoff mechanism is saturation excess. The hydrology model was developed and coupled with an erosion model using available precipitation and potential evaporation data and a minimum of calibration parameters. This model was applied to the Blue Nile. The model predicts direct runoff from saturated areas and impermeable areas (such as bedrock outcrops) and subsurface flow from the remainder of the hillslopes. The ratio of direct runoff to total flow is used to predict the sediment concentration by assuming that only the direct runoff is responsible for the sediment load in the stream. There is reasonable agreement between the model predictions and the 10-day observed discharge and sediment concentration at the gauging station on Blue Nile upstream of Rosaries Dam at the Ethiopia–Sudan border.
10 White, E. D.; Easton, Z. M.; Fuka, D. R.; Collick, A. S.; Adgo, E.; McCartney, Matthew; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Selassie, Y. G.; Steenhuis, T. S. 2011. Development and application of a physically based landscape water balance in the SWAT model. Hydrological Processes, 25(6):915-925. [doi: https://doi.org/ 10.1002/hyp.7876]
Simulation models ; Hydrology ; Water balance ; Water table ; Runoff ; Stream flow ; Watersheds ; River basins / Ethiopia / USA / Blue Nile River / Gumera Watershed / New York / Catskill Mountains / Town Brook Watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043240)
(0.61 MB)
Watershed scale hydrological and biogeochemical models rely on the correct spatial-temporal prediction of processes governing water and contaminant movement. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model, one of the most commonly used watershed scale models, uses the popular curve number (CN) method to determine the respective amounts of infiltration and surface runoff. Although appropriate for flood forecasting in temperate climates, the CN method has been shown to be less than ideal in many situations (e.g. monsoonal climates and areas dominated by variable source area hydrology). The CN model is based on the assumption that there is a unique relationship between the average moisture content and the CN for all hydrologic response units (HRUs), and that the moisture content distribution is similar for each runoff event, which is not the case in many regions. Presented here is a physically based water balance that was coded in the SWAT model to replace the CN method of runoff generation. To compare this new water balance SWAT (SWAT-WB) to the original CN-based SWAT SWAT-CN), two watersheds were initialized; one in the headwaters of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia and one in the Catskill Mountains of New York. In the Ethiopian watershed, streamflow predictions were better using SWAT-WB than SWAT-CN [Nash–Sutcliffe efficiencies (NSE) of 0Ð79 and 0Ð67, respectively]. In the temperate Catskills, SWAT-WB and SWAT-CN predictions were approximately equivalent (NSE >0Ð70). The spatial distribution of runoff-generating areas differed greatly between the two models, with SWAT-WB reflecting the topographical controls imposed on the model. Results show that a water balance provides results equal to or better than the CN, but with a more physically based approach.
11 Alemayehu, S. H.; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele; Horlacher, H. B.; Cullmann, J. 2010. Estimation of daily flow in ungauge catchment by coupling hydrological model and neural networks: case study. [Abstract only]. Paper presented at the Joint International Convention of 8th IAHS Scientific Assembly and 37th IAH Congress, Water: a vital resource under stress: how science can help, Hyderabad, India, 6-12 September 2009. 1p.
Rivers ; Flow ; Catchment areas ; Watersheds ; Hydrology ; Rainfall-runoff relationships ; Models ; Neural networks ; Case studies / Africa / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043345)
http://iahs.info/hyderabad/CD-Hyderabad/kishore/pdf/4648_Alemayehu_Estimation%20of%20daily%20flow.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H043345.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H043345.pdf
(0.08 MB) (85.98 KB)
Prediction of hydrological variables for ungauged basins is still a big challenge, particularly in developing countries. In this paper, we coupled Kohonen neural network and WaSiM-ETH to estimate flow in ungauged basin. 25 sub-catchments of the Blue Nile River basin, Ethiopia, were grouped in to five hydrological homogenous groups using KNNs. The coupled model copied the whole set of optimized WaSiM parameters from the homogeneous group (which the ungauge river belongs to) to the ungauge river and WaSiM compute the daily flow for this ungauge river. The model generally overestimates the low flow part of the hydrograph. In most cases the model underestimate the peak flow on daily basis but fits nicely on 10 days and monthly time step due to aggregation of the daily flow in to 10 days and monthly flow. In general, the results for sub-catchments that their data has never been involved during calibration showed the coupled program is quite satisfactory.
12 Rientjes, T. H. M.; Perera, B. U. J.; Haile, A. T.; Reggiani, P.; Muthuwatta, Lal P. 2011. Regionalisation for lake level simulation - the case of Lake Tana in the Upper Blue Nile, Ethiopia. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 15(4):1167-1183. [doi: https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-1167-2011]
Lakes ; Water balance ; Catchment areas ; Rainfall-runoff relationships ; Simulation models ; Regression analysis ; Calibrations / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River / Lake Tana
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043860)
http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/15/1167/2011/hess-15-1167-2011.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H043860.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H043860.pdf
(1.82 MB) (1.81MB)
In this study lake levels of Lake Tana are simulated at daily time step by solving the water balance for all inflow and outflow processes. Since nearly 62% of the Lake Tana basin area is ungauged a regionalisation procedure is applied to estimate lake inflows from ungauged catchments. The procedure combines automated multi-objective calibration of a simple conceptual model and multiple regression analyses to establish relations between model parameters and catchment characteristics. A relatively small number of studies are presented on Lake Tana’s water balance. In most studies the water balance is solved at monthly time step and the water balance is simply closed by runoff contributions from ungauged catchments. Studies partly relied on simple ad-hoc procedures of area comparison to estimate runoff from ungauged catchments. In this study a regional model is developed that relies on principles of similarity of catchments characteristics. For runoff modelling the HBV-96 model is selected while multiobjective model calibration is by a Monte Carlo procedure. We aim to assess the closure term of Lake Tana’s water balance, to assess model parameter uncertainty and to evaluate effectiveness of a multi-objective model calibration approach to make hydrological modeling results more plausible. For the gauged catchments, model performance is assessed by the Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient and Relative Volumetric Error and resulted in satisfactory to good performance for six, large catchments. The regional model is validated and indicated satisfactory to good performance in most cases. Results show that runoff from ungauged catchments is as large as 527mm per year for the simulation period and amounts to approximately 30% of Lake Tana stream inflow. Results of daily lake level simulation over the simulation period 1994–2003 show a water balance closure term of 85mm per year that accounts to 2.7% of the total lake inflow. Lake level simulations are assessed by Nash Sutcliffe (0.91) and Relative Volume Error (2.71%) performance measures.
13 McCartney, Matthew P.; Girma, M. M. 2012. Evaluating the downstream implications of planned water resource development in the Ethiopian portion of the Blue Nile River. Water International, 37(4):362-379. (Special issue on "How hydrological models support informed decision making in developing countries" with contributions by IWMI authors). [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2012.706384]
Water resources development ; River basins ; Downstream ; Climate change ; Water power ; Electricity generation ; Irrigation schemes ; Simulation models ; Flow discharge / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: PER Record No: H044986)
(1.85 MB)
Ethiopia’s policy of large dam construction in the Blue Nile River basin is evaluated by simulating the impact of one downscaled midrange climate change scenario (A1B) on the performance of existing and planned irrigation and hydropower schemes. The simulation finds that by 2100: 1) average basin-wide irrigation demand will increase; 2) annual hydroelectricity generation will be just 60% of potential; and 3) flow at the Ethiopia-Sudan border will be reduced from 1661 m3/s to 1301 m3/s as a consequence of climate change in combination with upstream water resource development. Adaptation to climate change and development must be considered together.
14 Bloschl, G.; Franks, S.; Kumagai, M.; Musiake, K.; Rosbjerg, D. (Eds.) 2003. Water resources systems: hydrological risk, management and development. Proceedings of an International Symposium (HS02b) held during the 23rd General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG 2003), Sapporo, Japan, 30 June-11 July 2003. Wallingford, UK: International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS). 366p. (IAHS Publication 281)
Water resources ; Hydrology ; Climate change ; Flood control ; Drought ; Precipitation ; Runoff ; Weather forecasting ; Risk assessment ; Decision support systems ; Ecosystems ; Environmental effects ; Reservoir operation ; Water allocation ; Water supply ; Water policy ; Water management ; Water conservation ; Soil conservation ; Models ; Irrigation ; Water availability ; Water use ; Groundwater ; Water storage ; Flow discharge ; Rivers ; Catchment areas ; Sustainability ; Economic aspects ; Population growth ; Satellite observation ; Infiltration ; Case studies / Central Europe / Ukraine / Israel / Ethiopia / Pakistan / China / Vietnam / Taiwan / Romania / Thailand / India / Indonesia / Palestine / Nigeria / Slovenia / Northeast India / Tisza River / Blue Nile River / Yangtze River / Red River Basin / Chao Phraya River / Lake Rawa Dano / West Java / Gurara River / Kaduna River / Shiroro Dam / Benin-Owena River Basin / St. Petersburg / Dragonja Catchment
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: 333.91 G000 BLO Record No: H046619)
(0.42 MB)
15 Muche, H.; Abdela, M.; Schmitter, Petra; Nakawuka, Prossie; Tilahun, S. A.; Steenhuis, T.; Langan, Simon. 2017. Application of deep tillage and Berken Maresha for hardpan sites to improve infiltration and crop productivity [Abstract only] Paper presented at the 5th International Conference on the Advancement of Science and Technology, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia. 1p.
Crop production ; Crop yield ; Productivity ; Infiltration ; Tillage ; Penetration ; Grain ; Maize ; Erosion ; Runoff / Ethiopia / Blue Nile River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048309)
Long term use of Maresha plow, a conventional plow pulled by oxen, has resulted in the formation of a restrictive layer thereby limiting water movement and aeration as well as root zone penetration in the soil profile. Several studies have shown that improved tillage practices can positively affect infiltration and aeration resulting in increased rainwater use efficiency and agricultural production. However, rather limited information is available about the use of the Berken plough as a potential alternative for tillage practices. We studied the impact of improved tillage practices on infiltration, erosion, runoff and crop productivity during the rainy period of 2016 in Robit-Bata watershed located in upper Blue Nile, Ethiopia. The experiments were carried out in Maize fields where four tillage treatments were compared: (i) no-till (NT), no ploughing; (ii) conventional (CT), plots tilled three times using oxen driven Maresha, (iii) deep (DT), manual digging up to 60 cm using a mattock and (iv) Berken tillage (BT), plots tilled three times using an oxen driven Berken plough. Soil physical parameters (e.g. penetration resistance, bulk density) where measured before tillage treatment and after the cropping season. Additionally, crop performance (plant height, yield, residual biomass and root depth) and measurements on infiltration, sediment yield and runoff were collected. Tillage depth was significantly higher in DT (60 cm) followed by BT (27.58 cm) and CT (18.13cm). At the end of the season, the measured penetration resistance was significantly (p<0.01) lower at 20 cm depth in the DT and BT plots compared to the NT and the CT treatments. Infiltration rates increased from 115.2 mm hr-1(NT), 120 mm hr-1(CT) to 242.4 mm hr-1(DT), 261.6 mm hr-1(BT) (p<0.01) . The total runoff depth significantly decreased in the DT (29.46 mm) and BT treatments (33.53 mm) as compared to the CT (71.45 mm) and NT (98.77 mm) (p < 0.05). Similarly higher sediment yields were recorded for the CT (5.5 t ha-1) and NT (6.6 t ha-1) compared to the DT (2.6 tha-1) and BT (2.6 t ha-1) plots. Deeper tillage in DT and BT treatments as well as the presence of invisible barriers along the contour in Berken system could be the reason for the observed increase in filtration and the reduction of runoff and soil loss. On the other hand, the root length under DT was (> 50cm) followed by BT (>40cm) and NT and CT (both < 30 cm). Grain yield of maize was significantly lower in the NT (2.6 t ha-1) compared to yields measured in the CT (3.8 t ha-1), DT (3.8t ha-1) and BT (4.0 t ha-1) treatments (p <0.05). Results show that improved tillage practices such as deep tillage or Berken plough could increase permeability and herefore root penetration and agricultural productivity whilst decreasing erosion and runoff in the Ethiopian Highlands. The adoption of these techniques in the Ethiopian highlands could improve the sustainability of rainfed agriculture and reduce the environmental impacts associated with traditional tillage practices.
16 Basheer, M.; Siddig, K.; Ringler, C. 2024. Water-energy-food planning and operations framework for river basins with a case study on the Blue Nile. Journal of Hydrology, 631:130801. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.130801]
River basins ; Planning ; Frameworks ; Decision making ; Optimization methods ; Irrigation schemes ; Irrigation water ; Nexus approaches ; Hydroelectric power generation ; Water use ; Water supply ; Food security ; Cropping patterns ; Infrastructure ; Transboundary waters ; Stakeholders ; Stream flow ; Case studies / Ethiopia / Sudan / Blue Nile River / Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052712)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022169424001951/pdfft?md5=4ddd9e2fbd423903a03accaf2f0bf0c1&pid=1-s2.0-S0022169424001951-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052712.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052712.pdf
(11.60 MB) (11.6 MB)
Infrastructure in river basins is essential to achieving several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 2 on zero hunger, SDG 6 on water and sanitation, and SDG 7 on affordable and clean energy. However, important tradeoffs and synergies need to be navigated across these goals as both water and resources for infrastructure investments are limited. In transboundary river basins, such tradeoffs can transcend countries, creating a complex, interconnected system of water-energy-food linkages. With increasing pressures on the Blue Nile’s water resources from population and economic growth and climate change, an analytical framework for joint planning of these essential human development goals at a fine temporal resolution and considering multi-national priorities can enhance the potential to achieve water, energy, and food security. In this study, we develop and apply a framework for water resources planning in the Blue Nile using four steps: (1) understanding the water-energy-food nexus management landscape through stakeholder engagement and literature review; (2) developing a detailed daily simulator that captures major nexus components and objectives at a fine temporal scale; (3) linking the simulator to an Artificial intelligence-based search algorithm to design efficient agricultural and dam operation portfolios considering national and sectoral priorities; and (4) presenting the results using interactive visualization tools to facilitate dialogue and support decisions. Our results identify efficient operation plans for large dams on the Blue Nile for alternative cropping patterns in expanded irrigation areas in Sudan that minimize tradeoffs across water, energy, and food objectives.
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