Abstract
In this paper a Multiple Criteria Mathematical Programming model has been developed integrating vulnerability maps; its purpose is to optimize and facilitate the decision making process relating to the problems of water management, land use and environmental protection. The model is used to support irrigation water use and eco-friendly decision processes in agricultural production planning. It has been developed in the context of the research project entitled EU Water (transnational integrated management of water resources in agriculture for European water emergency control). For accessing the vulnerability of agricultural land to water and nitrogen losses, a set of indices were utilised. It was implemented in the Sarigkiol basin in the north-eastern part of the Kozani prefecture in Northern Greece, combining different criteria to a utility function under a set of constraints concerning different categories of labour, land, available capital, etc. On the same time the model is taking into account the vulnerability maps which have been developed for the area. The aim of the study was to achieve optimum crop plans in the aforementioned area and it was further used to simulate different scenarios and policies, due to changes on different social, economic and environmental parameters (e.g. different levels of chemicals or water consumption per crop). The decision maker can get alternative production plans and agricultural land uses as well as the social, economic and environmental impact of different policies. Results show that the model can be considered as an important planning tool enabling the regional authorities to design optimal spatial development policies and protect groundwater from the excessive fertilizer and other pollution agents use.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Almasri MN (2008) Assessment of intrinsic vulnerability to contamination for Gaza coastal aquifer, Palestine. J Environ Manage 88:577–593. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2007.01.022
Amador F, Sumpsi MJ, Romero C (1998) A non-interactive methodology to assess farmers’ utility functions: an application to large farms in Andalusia, Spain. Eur Rev Agric Econ 25:92–109
Aschonitis VG, Mastrocicco M, Colombani N, Salemi E, Kazakis N, Voudouris K, Castaldelli G (2012) Assessment of the intrinsic vulnerability of agricultural land to water and nitrogen losses via deterministic approach and regression analysis. Water Air Soil Pollut 223:1605–1614. doi:10.1007/s11270-011-0968-5
Berbel J, Gomez-Limon JA (2000) The impact of water-pricing policy in Spain: an analysis of three irrigated areas. Agric Water Manag 43:219–238
Bournaris T, Papathanasiou J (2012) A DSS for planning the agricultural production. Int J Bus Innov Res 6:117–134. doi:10.1504/ijbir.2012.044259
Bournaris T, Moulogianni C, Manos B (2014) A multicriteria model for the assessment of rural development plans in Greece. Land Use Policy 38:1–8
Gómez-Limón JA, Berbel J (2000) Multicriteria analysis of derived water demand functions: a Spanish case study. Agric Syst 63:49–72. doi:10.1016/S0308-521X(99)00075-X
Gomez-Limon JA, Riesgo L (2004) Irrigation water pricing: differential impacts on irrigated farms. Agric Econ 31:47–66. doi:10.1016/j.agecon.2003.02.001
Manos B, Bournaris T, Kamruzzaman M, Begum M, Papathanasiou J (2006) Regional impact of irrigation water pricing in Greece under alternative scenarios of European policy: a multicriteria analysis. Reg Stud 40:1055–1068
Manos B, Bournaris T, Papathanasiou J, Moulogianni C, Voudouris KS (2007) A DSS for agricultural land use, water management and environmental protection. In: EEESD ‘07: Proceedings of the 3rd IASME/WSEAS International Conference on Energy, Environment, Ecosystems and Sustainable Development, pp 340–345
Manos B, Papathanasiou J, Bournaris T, Voudouris K (2010a) A DSS for sustainable development and environmental protection of agricultural regions. Environ Monit Assess 164:43–52
Manos B, Papathanasiou J, Bournaris T, Voudouris K (2010b) A multicriteria model for planning agricultural regions within a context of groundwater rational management. J Environ Manage 91:1593–1600
Manos B, Bournaris Th, Chatzinikolaou P, Berbel J, Nikolov D (2013) Effects of CAP policy on farm household behaviour and social sustainability. Land Use Policy 31:166–181. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2011.12.012
Martika-Vakirtzi M (2008) Management in agriculture. Grafima Publications, Thessaloniki
Mastrocicco M, Colombani N, Castaldelli G (2013) A stepwise approach to assess the fate of nitrogen species in agricultural lowlands. In: Sharma SK, Sanghi R (eds) Wastewater reuse and management. Springer, Netherlands, pp 431–460. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-4942-9_15
Raggi M, Sardonini L, Viaggi D (2013) The effects of the common agricultural policy on exit strategies and land re-allocation. Land Use Policy 31:114–125. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2011.12.009
Romero C (1991) Handbook of critical issues in goal programming. Pergamon Press, Oxford
Steinberger G, Rothmund M, Auernhammer H (2009) Mobile farm equipment as a data source in an agricultural service architecture. Comput Electron Agric 65:238–246
Sumpsi JM, Amador F, Romero C (1997) On farmers’ objectives: a multi-criteria approach. Eur J Oper Res 96:64–71
Voudouris K (2009) Assessing groundwater pollution risk in Sarigkiol basin, NW Greece. In: Gallo M, Herrari M (eds) River pollution research progress. Nova Science Publishers, Hauppauge, pp 265–281
Zekri S, Romero C (1993) Public and private compromise in agricultural water management. J Environ Manage 37:281–290
Conflict of interest
None.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bournaris, T., Papathanasiou, J., Manos, B. et al. Support of irrigation water use and eco-friendly decision process in agricultural production planning. Oper Res Int J 15, 289–306 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12351-015-0178-9
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12351-015-0178-9