Long-term improvement of agricultural vegetation by floodwater spreading in the Gareh Bygone Plain, Iran. In the pursuit of human security, is artificial recharge of groundwater more lucrative than selling oil?

Mesbah, Sayyed Hamid; Mohammadnia, Mehrdad; Kowsar, Sayyed Ahang

Long-term improvement of agricultural vegetation by floodwater spreading in the Gareh Bygone Plain, Iran. In the pursuit of human security, is artificial recharge of groundwater more lucrative than selling oil? | Amélioration à long terme de l’agriculture par épandage des eaux de crues dans la plaine de Gareh Bygone, Iran. La recharge artificielle des eaux souterraines est-elle plus lucrative que la vente de pétrole pour assurer la sécurité des populations? Mejoramiento a largo plazo de la vegetación agrícola por difusión del agua de inundación en el Gareh Bygone Plain, Irán. En la búsqueda de la seguridad humana, es la recarga artificial del agua subterránea más lucrativa que la venta de petróleo? 伊朗Gareh Bygone平原洪水蔓延的农业植被的长期改良。为了追求安全,地下水人工补给比出售石油更合算吗? بهبود بلند مدت فراورده های كشاورزي با گسترش سيلاب در دشت گربايگان، ايران: آيا براي تامين امنيت انسان‌ها، تغذيه‌ي مصنوعي آبخوانها سودمندتر است يا فروش نفت ؟ Melhoria a longo prazo da vegetação agrícola por água de inundação na Planície de Gareh Bygone, Irã. Em busca por segurança humana, seria a recarga artificial de águas subterrâneas mais lucrativa que a venda de petróleo?

2016

Mesbah, Sayyed Hamid | Mohammadnia, Mehrdad | Kowsar, Sayyed Ahang

In southern Iran’s Gareh Bygone Plain, water-supply qanats in four mixed farming communities were desiccated by over-pumping of illegal dug wells throughout the area. Emergency situations developed, resulting in city-ward migration. Since 1983, 193 million m³ of water has been supplied to those communities by floodwater spreading (FWS) to facilitate spate irrigation of sandy rangeland (2,034 ha) and artificial recharge of groundwater (ARG), of which 76 % has recharged the aquifer. This resulted in a reverse migration of the population. The irrigated area in the 2010–2011 growing season increased 13.2 fold when compared to the pre-FWS period, and year-round forage for about 700 sheep has been provided since 1991. The ARG is a logical alternative to building large dams in Iran; 420,000 km² of coarse-grained alluvium provides capacity to store 5,000 km³ of water, representing more than ten times the annual precipitation of the whole country. As the equivalent cost for building dams to accommodate that volume is estimated at US$12.5 × 10¹², the potential value of the alluvium may be realized. ARG on the recharge areas of 33,000 of the desiccated qanats eventually could rejuvenate them. As agricultural commodities absorb 19 % of the monetary value of Iran’s imports, and ARG activities could supply the water to produce them, alluvium is even more valuable than oil, which provides foreign exchange. More importantly, ARG on 140,000 km² of the alluvium could strengthen the capacity to adapt to droughts and reduce the number and impact of water-related emergency situations.

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