engleski

Agricultural Management Strategies for Countering Drought Conditions in Eastern Croatia

The occurrence of drought periods which last for several months is becoming increasingly frequent, even in regions which have not encountered them before. Agricultural production is very sensitive to drought, and in areas where such conditions were rather unexpected, it is also unprepared for limited water management. As an example, in the area of the Biđ-Bosut field located in eastern Croatia, a significant change in the agricultural soil water regime is noticed during a long-term study (2003 - 2018). Within the investigated period, a slight but non-significant upward trend in annual precipitation with a sum of 0.12 mm per year was noted, whereas the average monthly air temperature showed a rising trend of 0.084 °C. From 2003 to 2018, the groundwater level at 4 m below the soil surface showed a decreasing trend of 6 - 10 cm annually, while this negative trend was even more prominent from 2014 to 2018 (18 to 71 cm annually). Furthermore, water level in a groundwater aquifer at 15 m below the soil surface showed a decreasing trend of 26 - 77 cm during 2015 - 2018. In accordance with the obtained results, this study proposes certain agro- hydrotechnical strategies which can be used in agricultural production to alleviate the effects of drought period. Although these management strategies are primarily described on an eastern continental Croatia example, they can also be applied in all agricultural areas with similar agroecological conditions. The results of the hydrometeorological analyses used in this study proved to be a useful tool for creating up-to-date (agro)environmental management strategies to counter the drought related impact of global climate change.

water availability, agricultural management, groundwater level, irrigation, monitoring

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