Water Footprint of Cereals by Remote Sensing in Kairouan Plain (Tunisia)

A study on the Kairouan plain, Tunisia, reveals that cereal crops—wheat and barley—exhibit significant variability in water efficiency, with over 30% of cultivated areas showing low yields coupled with high water consumption. This inefficiency is particularly pronounced during dry years, where blue water footprint (WFb) dominates, indicating unsustainable irrigation practices. The research employed the S-SEBI model to estimate actual evapotranspiration (ETa) using Landsat satellite data and an empirical NDVI-based model for yield estimation over three growing seasons (2010–2013). Findings highlight that while average water footprints ranged from 1.08 m³/kg to 1.22 m³/kg, spatial analysis using a novel Water Footprint Index (WFI) exposed critical inefficiencies in water use, with 40% of low-yield plots irrigated in 2012—contrasting sharply with 6% in 2011. This underscores the need for targeted interventions to optimize water management in cereal production under varying climatic conditions.

Dellaly, V., Chahbi Bellakanji, A., Chakroun, H., Saadi, S., Boulet, G., Zribi, M., & Lili Chabaane, Z. (2024). Water Footprint of Cereals by Remote Sensing in Kairouan Plain (Tunisia). Remote Sensing, 16(3), 491. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16030491