Sustainable Agriculture Literature Review - Boulder County

! ! !!
"#$%&!'())! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! )=!>1.;#-2!
Water
Climate change will affect water in the agriculture sector in two ways: (1) crops may
require more irrigation water to produce the same yields because of decreases in
precipitation and the occurrence of drought and (2) water availability for irrigation could
decrease significantly. 36 These two changes, coupled with increases in the average
37, 38
temperature, will signal a serious water supply challenge over the coming decades.
In the Great Plains region of northeast Colorado, there was a 50 percent increase in
irrigated acres between 1974 and 1980, which greatly increased the water demand in
the region. 39 If water resources decrease due to climate change (Figure 2), water
competition between agriculture and development will intensify. Consequently, water
storage and management will become increasingly more important as the timing of
snowmelt and irrigation water demand change. 40 More efficient irrigation and shifts in
cropping patterns have the potential to compensate for decreases in water availability for
irrigation due to rising temperatures, if done strategically. 41
!
Figure 2: Projected Change in Spring Precipitation, 2080-2099 42
More information on water constraints can be found in section 3. Water Use.
"+&"
!*+,-#./#012!34$.%+1-+$2!
5.-2$#-+$2!627.28!