Optimizing water use in agriculture to preserve soil and water resources
WATER4EVER is a European research project, which aims to increase irrigation water and fertilization efficiencies through precision irrigation.
The project has 3 major components:
A technological component devoted to the development of measuring technologies based on optical sensors.
A modelling component addressing both the local and the catchment scales.
A fieldwork component based on 3 case studies dedicated to vineyards and fruit trees where the new sensor and modelling tools will be combined with field data obtained by conventional monitoring and remote sensing.
The project aims to minimise soil and nutrient losses to surface water and groundwater, and the subsequent nitrogen and phosphorus transfer from agriculture fields into rivers. A Decision Support System based on online data and on forecast models was developed and tested in case studies located in Portugal, Spain, and Italy.