Ecologic and economic perspectives for sustainable irrigated agriculture under arid climate conditions: An analysis based on environmental indicators for southern Tunisia

Abstract

Abstract In arid hot dry areas, of southern Tunisia, the intense agricultural development of more than 200,000 tons/year relies on the exploitation of groundwater resources. The scarcity of freshwaters intensifies the abstraction from deep high mineralized groundwater resources to maintain the eco-social security of the local population. However, the emerging impacts of the used water quality elicit the public concern for the likely effects on the sustainability of the agro-systems regarding the climate conditions and the farming practices. Thus, this paper attempts to examine the evolution of irrigation water quality and its relative impacts on the fragile balance between ecosystem healthy functioning and sustainable services and the anthropogenic activities namely farm households and irrigation techniques. The outcome of this review indicates that the amplitude of the progressive land degradation is amplified by the inefficient water management. These cumulative impacts induce incurable effects leading to the progressive fertility loss of agricultural lands (about 1.25\xa0ha/yr). The used agro-ecological indicators show that the basin irrigation technique, water distribution management and individual farming practices lead to increasing loss of productivity gain. In these agro-based areas, emergency institutional and political rehabilitation efforts are required to reorganize farm systems and to limit the unintended impacts for securing sustainable eco-environmental services.