Strategies for increasing the WATer use efficiency of semi-arid Mediterranean watersheds and agrosilvopastoral systems under climate CHange – SWATCH

The overarching goal of this research project is to develop and apply innovative methodologies to increase the social-ecological water use efficiency of managed ecosystems along the Mediterranean biome and climate types. We will focus on a diverse set of seasonally dry ecosystems, spanning a large gradient of mean annual rainfall (from 35 to 935 mm/y) across the Mediterranean biome. Case studies will examine the Mediterranean Sea basin from west to east and north to south providing the exceptional opportunity to develop, identify and compare water resources management and planning strategies for contrasting climate conditions in the Mediterranean region.
We will define innovative strategies for the water sustainability in the Mediterranean region under current and future climate change scenarios, optimizing water infrastructure (e.g., reservoirs, wells network design) and water uses (irrigation, animal production systems, drinking and industrial activities). Strategies will be defined with stakeholders and government authorities, which will be actively involved in the project. To improve predictive technical tools for water resources assessment, we propose to develop innovative methodologies and techniques to better estimate evapotranspiration, the main parameter of the water budget in semi-arid and arid climates. To do so we propose to combine the use of eddy covariance and tree sapflow observations. In addition, advanced technical tools (remote sensing observations) will be developed to monitor the main state variables explaining energy and water balance at the land surface, and to include those observations in data assimilation systems to predict watershed hydrological cycles. The analysis of climate and land use scenarios will provide the inputs for the water resources management and planning to optimally use both surface water and groundwater. Ultimately, we will establish a transnational Mediterranean river monitoring system for sharing knowledge and data.