IN THIS PROJECT, WE PROPOSE A NOVEL FRAMEWORK OF CLIMATE SMART ANALYTICS (CSA) FOR IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT. THIS FRAMEWORK IS DRIVEN BY STATE-OF-ART NUMERICAL WEATHER PREDICTIONS, SATELLITE EARTH OBSERVATIONS, CROP SIMULATION MODELS, DIGITAL GSSURGO SOIL DATABASE, AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNIQUES WITH ENHANCED EFFICIENCY AND FREE AND ROBUST COMPLEMENT TO EXPENSIVE GROUND-BASED SENSORS. THE RATIONALE IS THAT DEVELOPING A CSA FRAMEWORK TO SUPPORT IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT WILL LEAD TO NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ON MAXIMIZING WATER USE EFFICIENCY AT BOTH LOCAL AND REGIONAL SCALES. WE EXPECT TO HAVE THE PROTOTYPE CSA FRAMEWORK TO PROVIDE NOVEL ALGORITHMS, DATA, AND MODELS FOR IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT THAT WILL BE USED TO IMPROVE EXISTING IRRIGATION ADVISORY TOOLS IN THE FUTURE. SUCH A FRAMEWORK WILL CREATE NEW CAPACITIES TO MONITOR AND FORECAST CROP WATER NEEDS AT 10-M RESOLUTION AND IS READY TO BE AGGREGATED INTO DIFFERENT SPATIAL SCALES (I.E. FIELD, WATERSHED, AND REGION). THE FRAMEWORK WILL BE NO COST, SINCE IT IS DRIVEN BY OPEN-SOURCE, PUBLICALLY AVAILABLE NUMERICAL WEATHER PREDICTION MODEL FORECASTS, SENTINEL-2 SATELLITE IMAGES, AND CROP SIMULATION MODELS. THE PROPOSED CSA FRAMEWORK WILL SERVE AS A FOUNDATION FOR ANY IRRIGATION DECISION SUPPORT TOOL, AND WILL PROVIDE AN EFFICIENT, LOW COST, AND USABLE INFORMATION FOR FARMERS, LANDOWNERS, AND DECISION MAKERS TO IMPROVE THEIR IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT AND MAXIMIZE WATER USE EFFICIENCY. OUTCOMES FROM OUR PROJECT ARE EXPECTED TO LEAD TO INTELLIGENT IRRIGATION DECISION MAKING AIMED AT REDUCE THE WATER FOOTPRINT IN AGRO-ECOSYSTEMS, AS WELL AS MINIMIZE SOIL NUTRIENT LOSS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT DUE TO OVER-IRRIGATION.
$489,944FY2019National Institute of Food and AgricultureUSDA
Auburn University, Auburn AL