Hector Malano - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Hector Malano

Research paper thumbnail of Reallocating water for the environment in the Murray-Darling Basin of Australia

Green growth and water allocation, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Aridland

Encyclopedia of Environmental Change

Research paper thumbnail of The Irrigation and Drainage Service Concept

Research paper thumbnail of A Fair Irrigation Scheduling Method Prioritizing on the Individual Needs of the Crops and Infrastructure Limitations

Abstract. In many agricultural countries in the world, water is supplied to the crop fields throu... more Abstract. In many agricultural countries in the world, water is supplied to the crop fields through canal based distribution systems. Fields would have different crop types with varying water demands. When irrigating multiple fields, capacities of the canal and its outlets also need to be considered. This paper develops an integrated scheduling method which addresses both these concerns, in the context of a single canal based farm focusing on short term irrigation. The proposed methodology is a step towards real time irrigation scheduling in response to future weather and crop demands. At the first stage of the method, model predictive control (MPC) calculates the irrigation demand of the individual fields. Then, particle swarm optimization (PSO) optimizes the allocation of irrigation amounts based on these demands and the demands of neighboring fields. Integer zero programming is used for optimal delivery of the suggested allocations, by opening and closing the outlets. Simulations based on the model Aquacrop show that the method is capable of maintaining the soil moisture levels above wilting point at all times while utilizing the limited infrastructure capacities available.

Research paper thumbnail of What is Driving Temporary Water Trading in the Goulburn-Broken Catchment. A Contributed paper to the Annual Conference of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Melbourne

Research paper thumbnail of An integrated simulation model for water management in a small river basin: Tampo River in West Sumatra, Indonesia

1st Asian Regional Conference of ICID, Seoul, Korea Republic, 16-21 September 2001., 2001

Research paper thumbnail of Managing irrigation and drainage facilities with a service orientation

Research paper thumbnail of Two-Dimensional Simulation Model for Contour Basin Layouts in Southeast Australia. II: Irregular Shape and Multiple Basins

Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering-asce, Oct 1, 2003

Contour basin irrigation layouts are used to irrigate rice and other cereal crops on heavy cracki... more Contour basin irrigation layouts are used to irrigate rice and other cereal crops on heavy cracking soils in Southeast Australia. In this study, a physically based two-dimensional simulation model that incorporates all the features of contour basin irrigation systems is developed. The ...

Research paper thumbnail of Irrigation-Induced Land–Atmosphere Feedbacks and Their Impacts on Indian Summer Monsoon

Journal of Climate, Nov 1, 2018

From the 1980s, Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) shows a decreasing trend over north and nor... more From the 1980s, Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) shows a decreasing trend over north and northwest India, and there was a significant observed reduction in July over central and south India in 1982-2003. The key drivers of the changed ISMR, however, remain unclear. It was hypothesized that the large-scale irrigation development that started in the 1950s has resulted in land surface cooling, which slowed large-scale atmospheric circulation, exerting significant influences on ISMR. To test this hypothesis, a fully coupled model, the CESM v1.0.3, was used with a global irrigation dataset. In this study, spatially varying irrigationinduced feedback mechanisms are investigated in detail at different stages of the monsoon. Results show that soil moisture and evapotranspiration increase significantly over India throughout the summertime because of the irrigation. However, 2-m air temperature shows a significant reduction only in a limited region because the temperature change is influenced simultaneously by surface incoming shortwave radiation and evaporative cooling resulting from the irrigation, especially over the heavily irrigated region. Irrigation also induces a 925-hPa northeasterly wind from 308N toward the equator. This is opposite to the prevailing direction of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) wind that brings moist air to India. The modeled rainfall in the irrigated case significantly decreases up to 1.5 mm day 21 over central and north India from July to September. This paper reveals that the irrigation can contribute to both increasing and decreasing the surface temperature via multiple feedback mechanisms. The net effect is to weaken the ISM with the high spatial and temporal heterogeneity.

Research paper thumbnail of Soil Moisture and Water Tension Dynamics During Subsurface Drip Irrigation Cycles on Two Contrasting Soils from Northern Victoria

H2009: 32nd Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium, Newcastle : Adapting to Change, 2009

Ongoing water shortages and projected long term reductions in water supply are focussing irrigato... more Ongoing water shortages and projected long term reductions in water supply are focussing irrigators and water policy makers on the need to make best use of available water. Subsurface drip (SSD) irrigation is potentially water efficient by delivering water to the plant rootzone through emitters and thus reducing potential evaporation, runoff and drainage losses. Adoption of SSD on dairy farms may also benefit regional water quality by altering water movement pathways off farm. However, dairy farmers will not invest in SSD irrigation until they are confident that it can withstand cattle grazing and be economically viable. A field experiment is being conducted to investigate the performance of SSD irrigation in pasture production on a 'light' and a 'medium' textured soil in northern Victoria. Regular measurement of soil moisture and soil matric potential provides interesting insights into the differing patterns of water use and movement during irrigation cycles on the two soils. This paper outlines findings from the 2008/09 irrigation season. Soil moisture distribution with this irrigation system is influenced strongly by soil structure and hydraulic behaviour, with greater spatial variation on the light soil. Evaporation and surface runoff loss of water was minimal on both soils. With SSD, drainage behaviour is affected more by irrigation frequency than by tape spacing. Under the daily irrigation regime, some drainage occurred with each irrigation event on both soils. Drainage timing is affected by soil structure and hydraulic behaviour, with a more rapid response to irrigation on the light soil. Drainage did not consistently occur under the '4 days' irrigation regime until later in the season on the light soil and was less evident on the medium soil.

Research paper thumbnail of A top-down approach to understand the effect of vegetation changes on stream salinity

Chan, F., Marinova, D. and Anderssen, R.S. (eds) MODSIM2011, 19th International Congress on Modelling and Simulation., Dec 12, 2011

Large scale clearing of native forests for agriculture modifies the patterns of rainfall partitio... more Large scale clearing of native forests for agriculture modifies the patterns of rainfall partitioning into evapotranspiration, runoff and infiltration. As deep rooted trees have higher evapotranspiration rates compared with shallow rooted crops for a given amount of rainfall, removal of native trees results in an increased recharge. This can mobilize salts stored in the unsaturated zone and groundwater. The discharge of salts from catchments causes the salinisation of water and land resources in sub-humid to semi-arid regions. In addition to causing significant loss to economy, the salinity issue is a serious threat to the environmental sustainability. Stream salinity being a function of climate, physical characteristics of catchments and land cover, is highly variable in space and time. This variability can be explained on the basis of catchment scale data on climate, catchment attributes and landuse. However, the limitations of data availability require simpler approaches. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to demonstrate the use of readily available catchment-scale data and an annual evapotranspiration model in explaining the variability in stream salinity due to vegetation changes in a sub-humid environment. We use a Budyko-type, an annual evapotranspiration model (Zhang et al. 2004) to understand the effects of vegetation changes on stream salinity. Catchment-scale observed data on climate (mean annual rainfall, actual evapotranspiration, and potential evapotranspiration) and time series of streamflow and salinity from 78 catchments across Victoria, Australia, were used in the analysis. Physical topographic characteristics of the study catchments were derived with the help of a digital elevation model of the area. Spatial information on vegetation, landuse, geology, and soils were obtained from digital maps of these variables. Groundwater salinity was derived from the interpolated surface of salinity data of groundwater bores in the region. The change in the native forest cover was estimated from the native vegetation maps of pre-European settlement (1788) and post-European settlement (1988). Statistical methods, including correlation analysis and ordinary least square regression were used in the analysis. Based on catchment scale observed data and an annual evapotranspiration model (Zhang et al. 2004), it is shown that low flow salinity in our study catchments is highly associated with the evapotranspiration efficiency, fraction of catchment having flatter slopes, and the index of wetness. The analysis for our study region reveals that the catchments having evapotranspiration efficiencies between 0.5-0.6 and catchment parameter 'w' (Zhang et al. 2004) less than 1.46, can have saline low flow. These catchments are characterised with less forest cover, greater fraction of area having flatter slopes and dryland pasture and fall in the medium rainfall zone (500-850mm per year). Correlation analysis shows that low flow salinity is highly associated with evapotranspiration efficiency, index of wetness, catchment fraction having flatter slopes, area under native forests and dryland pasture. An ordinary least squares regression model for low flow salinity identified catchment parameter 'w' and catchment fraction having 2% to 4% slopes and index of wetness as the explanatory variables. We expect that improvement in the model could be achieved by considering other alternatives, such as robust and spatially weighted regression and principal component analysis.

Research paper thumbnail of A Bayesian network approach to knowledge integration and representation of farm irrigation: 2. Model validation

Water Resources Research, Feb 1, 2009

Irrigation is important to many agricultural businesses but also has implications for catchment h... more Irrigation is important to many agricultural businesses but also has implications for catchment health. A considerable body of knowledge exists on how irrigation management affects farm business and catchment health. However, this knowledge is fragmentary; is available in many forms such as qualitative and quantitative; is dispersed in scientific literature, technical reports, and the minds of individuals; and is of varying degrees of certainty. Bayesian networks allow the integration of dispersed knowledge into quantitative systems models. This study describes the development, validation, and application of a Bayesian network model of farm irrigation in the Shepparton Irrigation Region of northern Victoria, Australia. In this first paper we describe the process used to integrate a range of sources of knowledge to develop a model of farm irrigation. We describe the principal model components and summarize the reaction to the model and its development process by local stakeholders. Subsequent papers in this series describe model validation and the application of the model to assess the regional impact of historical and future management intervention.

Research paper thumbnail of A novel generic optimization method for irrigation scheduling under multiple objectives and multiple hierarchical layers in a canal network

Advances in Water Resources, Jul 1, 2017

This research proposes a novel generic method for irrigation scheduling in a canal network, capab... more This research proposes a novel generic method for irrigation scheduling in a canal network, capable of optimizing multiple objectives related to canal scheduling (e.g. maximizing water supply and minimizing imbalance of water distribution) within multiple hierarchical layers (e.g. the layers consisting of the main canal, distributaries) while utilizing traditional canal scheduling methods. It is based on modularizing the optimization process. The method is theoretically capable of optimizing an unlimited number of user-defined objectives within an unlimited number of hierarchical layers and only limited by resource availability (e.g. maximum canal capacity and water limitations) in the network. It allows flexible decision-making through quantification of the mutual effects of optimizing conflicting objectives and is adaptable to available multi-objective evolutionary algorithms. The method's application is demonstrated using a hypothetical canal network example with six objectives and three hierarchical layers, and a real scenario with four objectives and two layers.

Research paper thumbnail of A Bayesian network approach to knowledge integration and representation of farm irrigation: 3. Spatial application

Water Resources Research, Feb 1, 2009

Irrigation is important to many agricultural businesses but also has implications for catchment h... more Irrigation is important to many agricultural businesses but also has implications for catchment health. A considerable body of knowledge exists on how irrigation management affects farm business and catchment health. However, this knowledge is fragmentary; is available in many forms such as qualitative and quantitative; is dispersed in scientific literature, technical reports, and the minds of individuals; and is of varying degrees of certainty. Bayesian networks allow the integration of dispersed knowledge into quantitative systems models. This study describes the development, validation, and application of a Bayesian network model of farm irrigation in the Shepparton Irrigation Region of northern Victoria, Australia. In this first paper we describe the process used to integrate a range of sources of knowledge to develop a model of farm irrigation. We describe the principal model components and summarize the reaction to the model and its development process by local stakeholders. Subsequent papers in this series describe model validation and the application of the model to assess the regional impact of historical and future management intervention.

Research paper thumbnail of Two-Dimensional Simulation Model for Contour Basin Layouts in Southeast Australia. I: Rectangular Basins

Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering-asce, Oct 1, 2003

Contour basin irrigation layouts are used to irrigate rice and other cereal crops on heavy cracki... more Contour basin irrigation layouts are used to irrigate rice and other cereal crops on heavy cracking soils in Southeast Australia. In this study, a physically based two-dimensional simulation model that incorporates all the features of contour basin irrigation systems is developed. The model's governing equations are based on a zero-inertia approximation to the two-dimensional shallow water equations of motion. The equations of motion are transformed into a single nonlinear advection-diffusion equation in which the friction force is described by Manning's formula. The empirical Kostiakov equation and the quasi-analytical Parlange equation are used to model the infiltration process. The governing equations are solved by using a split-operator approach. The numerical procedure described here is capable of modeling rectangular basins; a procedure for irregular shaped basins is presented in Paper II. The model was validated against field data collected on commercial lasered contour layouts.

Research paper thumbnail of Development of a GIS based data collection and software utility for asset management

Research paper thumbnail of An Investigation of the Potential Benefits of Hydroclimate Forecasts for Irrigators in Northern Victoria

Congress on Modelling and Simulation, 2005

Australia is not only the driest inhabited continent, but it also has low and highly variable run... more Australia is not only the driest inhabited continent, but it also has low and highly variable runoff. Furthermore, apart from the northernmost regions of the country, the water in most Australian rivers is currently either fully or, in some cases, over committed. As a consequence the annual availability of water for irrigation is both limited and uncertain. The recent extended drought throughout much of Australia has resulted in below average irrigation allocations in many areas. This has prompted a renewed interest in the probabilistic forecasting of these allocations prior to the opening of the irrigation season, such as is currently provided by Goulburn-Murray Water. The question arises however as to the practical usefulness of these forecasts for farmers.

Research paper thumbnail of Forecasts of Seasonal Irrigation Allocations in the Goulburn Catchment, Victoria

Congress on Modelling and Simulation, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Improving irrigation efficiency: a water pricing perspective

Journal of Experimental Botany, 2003

Research paper thumbnail of Water-Energy-GHG emissions accounting framework for urban water supply and wastewater treatment options

Proceedings of IWA World Water Congress, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Reallocating water for the environment in the Murray-Darling Basin of Australia

Green growth and water allocation, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Aridland

Encyclopedia of Environmental Change

Research paper thumbnail of The Irrigation and Drainage Service Concept

Research paper thumbnail of A Fair Irrigation Scheduling Method Prioritizing on the Individual Needs of the Crops and Infrastructure Limitations

Abstract. In many agricultural countries in the world, water is supplied to the crop fields throu... more Abstract. In many agricultural countries in the world, water is supplied to the crop fields through canal based distribution systems. Fields would have different crop types with varying water demands. When irrigating multiple fields, capacities of the canal and its outlets also need to be considered. This paper develops an integrated scheduling method which addresses both these concerns, in the context of a single canal based farm focusing on short term irrigation. The proposed methodology is a step towards real time irrigation scheduling in response to future weather and crop demands. At the first stage of the method, model predictive control (MPC) calculates the irrigation demand of the individual fields. Then, particle swarm optimization (PSO) optimizes the allocation of irrigation amounts based on these demands and the demands of neighboring fields. Integer zero programming is used for optimal delivery of the suggested allocations, by opening and closing the outlets. Simulations based on the model Aquacrop show that the method is capable of maintaining the soil moisture levels above wilting point at all times while utilizing the limited infrastructure capacities available.

Research paper thumbnail of What is Driving Temporary Water Trading in the Goulburn-Broken Catchment. A Contributed paper to the Annual Conference of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Melbourne

Research paper thumbnail of An integrated simulation model for water management in a small river basin: Tampo River in West Sumatra, Indonesia

1st Asian Regional Conference of ICID, Seoul, Korea Republic, 16-21 September 2001., 2001

Research paper thumbnail of Managing irrigation and drainage facilities with a service orientation

Research paper thumbnail of Two-Dimensional Simulation Model for Contour Basin Layouts in Southeast Australia. II: Irregular Shape and Multiple Basins

Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering-asce, Oct 1, 2003

Contour basin irrigation layouts are used to irrigate rice and other cereal crops on heavy cracki... more Contour basin irrigation layouts are used to irrigate rice and other cereal crops on heavy cracking soils in Southeast Australia. In this study, a physically based two-dimensional simulation model that incorporates all the features of contour basin irrigation systems is developed. The ...

Research paper thumbnail of Irrigation-Induced Land–Atmosphere Feedbacks and Their Impacts on Indian Summer Monsoon

Journal of Climate, Nov 1, 2018

From the 1980s, Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) shows a decreasing trend over north and nor... more From the 1980s, Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) shows a decreasing trend over north and northwest India, and there was a significant observed reduction in July over central and south India in 1982-2003. The key drivers of the changed ISMR, however, remain unclear. It was hypothesized that the large-scale irrigation development that started in the 1950s has resulted in land surface cooling, which slowed large-scale atmospheric circulation, exerting significant influences on ISMR. To test this hypothesis, a fully coupled model, the CESM v1.0.3, was used with a global irrigation dataset. In this study, spatially varying irrigationinduced feedback mechanisms are investigated in detail at different stages of the monsoon. Results show that soil moisture and evapotranspiration increase significantly over India throughout the summertime because of the irrigation. However, 2-m air temperature shows a significant reduction only in a limited region because the temperature change is influenced simultaneously by surface incoming shortwave radiation and evaporative cooling resulting from the irrigation, especially over the heavily irrigated region. Irrigation also induces a 925-hPa northeasterly wind from 308N toward the equator. This is opposite to the prevailing direction of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) wind that brings moist air to India. The modeled rainfall in the irrigated case significantly decreases up to 1.5 mm day 21 over central and north India from July to September. This paper reveals that the irrigation can contribute to both increasing and decreasing the surface temperature via multiple feedback mechanisms. The net effect is to weaken the ISM with the high spatial and temporal heterogeneity.

Research paper thumbnail of Soil Moisture and Water Tension Dynamics During Subsurface Drip Irrigation Cycles on Two Contrasting Soils from Northern Victoria

H2009: 32nd Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium, Newcastle : Adapting to Change, 2009

Ongoing water shortages and projected long term reductions in water supply are focussing irrigato... more Ongoing water shortages and projected long term reductions in water supply are focussing irrigators and water policy makers on the need to make best use of available water. Subsurface drip (SSD) irrigation is potentially water efficient by delivering water to the plant rootzone through emitters and thus reducing potential evaporation, runoff and drainage losses. Adoption of SSD on dairy farms may also benefit regional water quality by altering water movement pathways off farm. However, dairy farmers will not invest in SSD irrigation until they are confident that it can withstand cattle grazing and be economically viable. A field experiment is being conducted to investigate the performance of SSD irrigation in pasture production on a 'light' and a 'medium' textured soil in northern Victoria. Regular measurement of soil moisture and soil matric potential provides interesting insights into the differing patterns of water use and movement during irrigation cycles on the two soils. This paper outlines findings from the 2008/09 irrigation season. Soil moisture distribution with this irrigation system is influenced strongly by soil structure and hydraulic behaviour, with greater spatial variation on the light soil. Evaporation and surface runoff loss of water was minimal on both soils. With SSD, drainage behaviour is affected more by irrigation frequency than by tape spacing. Under the daily irrigation regime, some drainage occurred with each irrigation event on both soils. Drainage timing is affected by soil structure and hydraulic behaviour, with a more rapid response to irrigation on the light soil. Drainage did not consistently occur under the '4 days' irrigation regime until later in the season on the light soil and was less evident on the medium soil.

Research paper thumbnail of A top-down approach to understand the effect of vegetation changes on stream salinity

Chan, F., Marinova, D. and Anderssen, R.S. (eds) MODSIM2011, 19th International Congress on Modelling and Simulation., Dec 12, 2011

Large scale clearing of native forests for agriculture modifies the patterns of rainfall partitio... more Large scale clearing of native forests for agriculture modifies the patterns of rainfall partitioning into evapotranspiration, runoff and infiltration. As deep rooted trees have higher evapotranspiration rates compared with shallow rooted crops for a given amount of rainfall, removal of native trees results in an increased recharge. This can mobilize salts stored in the unsaturated zone and groundwater. The discharge of salts from catchments causes the salinisation of water and land resources in sub-humid to semi-arid regions. In addition to causing significant loss to economy, the salinity issue is a serious threat to the environmental sustainability. Stream salinity being a function of climate, physical characteristics of catchments and land cover, is highly variable in space and time. This variability can be explained on the basis of catchment scale data on climate, catchment attributes and landuse. However, the limitations of data availability require simpler approaches. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to demonstrate the use of readily available catchment-scale data and an annual evapotranspiration model in explaining the variability in stream salinity due to vegetation changes in a sub-humid environment. We use a Budyko-type, an annual evapotranspiration model (Zhang et al. 2004) to understand the effects of vegetation changes on stream salinity. Catchment-scale observed data on climate (mean annual rainfall, actual evapotranspiration, and potential evapotranspiration) and time series of streamflow and salinity from 78 catchments across Victoria, Australia, were used in the analysis. Physical topographic characteristics of the study catchments were derived with the help of a digital elevation model of the area. Spatial information on vegetation, landuse, geology, and soils were obtained from digital maps of these variables. Groundwater salinity was derived from the interpolated surface of salinity data of groundwater bores in the region. The change in the native forest cover was estimated from the native vegetation maps of pre-European settlement (1788) and post-European settlement (1988). Statistical methods, including correlation analysis and ordinary least square regression were used in the analysis. Based on catchment scale observed data and an annual evapotranspiration model (Zhang et al. 2004), it is shown that low flow salinity in our study catchments is highly associated with the evapotranspiration efficiency, fraction of catchment having flatter slopes, and the index of wetness. The analysis for our study region reveals that the catchments having evapotranspiration efficiencies between 0.5-0.6 and catchment parameter 'w' (Zhang et al. 2004) less than 1.46, can have saline low flow. These catchments are characterised with less forest cover, greater fraction of area having flatter slopes and dryland pasture and fall in the medium rainfall zone (500-850mm per year). Correlation analysis shows that low flow salinity is highly associated with evapotranspiration efficiency, index of wetness, catchment fraction having flatter slopes, area under native forests and dryland pasture. An ordinary least squares regression model for low flow salinity identified catchment parameter 'w' and catchment fraction having 2% to 4% slopes and index of wetness as the explanatory variables. We expect that improvement in the model could be achieved by considering other alternatives, such as robust and spatially weighted regression and principal component analysis.

Research paper thumbnail of A Bayesian network approach to knowledge integration and representation of farm irrigation: 2. Model validation

Water Resources Research, Feb 1, 2009

Irrigation is important to many agricultural businesses but also has implications for catchment h... more Irrigation is important to many agricultural businesses but also has implications for catchment health. A considerable body of knowledge exists on how irrigation management affects farm business and catchment health. However, this knowledge is fragmentary; is available in many forms such as qualitative and quantitative; is dispersed in scientific literature, technical reports, and the minds of individuals; and is of varying degrees of certainty. Bayesian networks allow the integration of dispersed knowledge into quantitative systems models. This study describes the development, validation, and application of a Bayesian network model of farm irrigation in the Shepparton Irrigation Region of northern Victoria, Australia. In this first paper we describe the process used to integrate a range of sources of knowledge to develop a model of farm irrigation. We describe the principal model components and summarize the reaction to the model and its development process by local stakeholders. Subsequent papers in this series describe model validation and the application of the model to assess the regional impact of historical and future management intervention.

Research paper thumbnail of A novel generic optimization method for irrigation scheduling under multiple objectives and multiple hierarchical layers in a canal network

Advances in Water Resources, Jul 1, 2017

This research proposes a novel generic method for irrigation scheduling in a canal network, capab... more This research proposes a novel generic method for irrigation scheduling in a canal network, capable of optimizing multiple objectives related to canal scheduling (e.g. maximizing water supply and minimizing imbalance of water distribution) within multiple hierarchical layers (e.g. the layers consisting of the main canal, distributaries) while utilizing traditional canal scheduling methods. It is based on modularizing the optimization process. The method is theoretically capable of optimizing an unlimited number of user-defined objectives within an unlimited number of hierarchical layers and only limited by resource availability (e.g. maximum canal capacity and water limitations) in the network. It allows flexible decision-making through quantification of the mutual effects of optimizing conflicting objectives and is adaptable to available multi-objective evolutionary algorithms. The method's application is demonstrated using a hypothetical canal network example with six objectives and three hierarchical layers, and a real scenario with four objectives and two layers.

Research paper thumbnail of A Bayesian network approach to knowledge integration and representation of farm irrigation: 3. Spatial application

Water Resources Research, Feb 1, 2009

Irrigation is important to many agricultural businesses but also has implications for catchment h... more Irrigation is important to many agricultural businesses but also has implications for catchment health. A considerable body of knowledge exists on how irrigation management affects farm business and catchment health. However, this knowledge is fragmentary; is available in many forms such as qualitative and quantitative; is dispersed in scientific literature, technical reports, and the minds of individuals; and is of varying degrees of certainty. Bayesian networks allow the integration of dispersed knowledge into quantitative systems models. This study describes the development, validation, and application of a Bayesian network model of farm irrigation in the Shepparton Irrigation Region of northern Victoria, Australia. In this first paper we describe the process used to integrate a range of sources of knowledge to develop a model of farm irrigation. We describe the principal model components and summarize the reaction to the model and its development process by local stakeholders. Subsequent papers in this series describe model validation and the application of the model to assess the regional impact of historical and future management intervention.

Research paper thumbnail of Two-Dimensional Simulation Model for Contour Basin Layouts in Southeast Australia. I: Rectangular Basins

Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering-asce, Oct 1, 2003

Contour basin irrigation layouts are used to irrigate rice and other cereal crops on heavy cracki... more Contour basin irrigation layouts are used to irrigate rice and other cereal crops on heavy cracking soils in Southeast Australia. In this study, a physically based two-dimensional simulation model that incorporates all the features of contour basin irrigation systems is developed. The model's governing equations are based on a zero-inertia approximation to the two-dimensional shallow water equations of motion. The equations of motion are transformed into a single nonlinear advection-diffusion equation in which the friction force is described by Manning's formula. The empirical Kostiakov equation and the quasi-analytical Parlange equation are used to model the infiltration process. The governing equations are solved by using a split-operator approach. The numerical procedure described here is capable of modeling rectangular basins; a procedure for irregular shaped basins is presented in Paper II. The model was validated against field data collected on commercial lasered contour layouts.

Research paper thumbnail of Development of a GIS based data collection and software utility for asset management

Research paper thumbnail of An Investigation of the Potential Benefits of Hydroclimate Forecasts for Irrigators in Northern Victoria

Congress on Modelling and Simulation, 2005

Australia is not only the driest inhabited continent, but it also has low and highly variable run... more Australia is not only the driest inhabited continent, but it also has low and highly variable runoff. Furthermore, apart from the northernmost regions of the country, the water in most Australian rivers is currently either fully or, in some cases, over committed. As a consequence the annual availability of water for irrigation is both limited and uncertain. The recent extended drought throughout much of Australia has resulted in below average irrigation allocations in many areas. This has prompted a renewed interest in the probabilistic forecasting of these allocations prior to the opening of the irrigation season, such as is currently provided by Goulburn-Murray Water. The question arises however as to the practical usefulness of these forecasts for farmers.

Research paper thumbnail of Forecasts of Seasonal Irrigation Allocations in the Goulburn Catchment, Victoria

Congress on Modelling and Simulation, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Improving irrigation efficiency: a water pricing perspective

Journal of Experimental Botany, 2003

Research paper thumbnail of Water-Energy-GHG emissions accounting framework for urban water supply and wastewater treatment options

Proceedings of IWA World Water Congress, 2012