Study Suggests Modest Farming Changes Could Save Significant Water in California
A UC Santa Barbara study highlights the potential for small adjustments in farming practices to achieve substantial water savings, offering a less drastic alternative to crop switching or fallowing fields.
- UC Santa Barbara study finds that improving farming practices could save as much water as switching crops or fallowing fields in California.
- Research combines remote sensing, big data, and machine learning to estimate water usage by crops in California's Central Valley.
- Study reveals that up to 10% of crop transpiration could be saved if top water users adopt median consumption levels.
- Innovations like mulching, no-till planting, and using drought-tolerant varietals could contribute to water savings.
- California's agriculture, which uses 80% of the state's water, faces challenges from declining groundwater levels and climate change.
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