Enhancing Agricultural Resilience and Water Security Using Cosmic-Ray Neutron Technology
Closed for Proposals
Project Type
Coordinated Research ProjectProject Code
D12014
CRP
2188
Approved Date
1 April 2019Project Status
ClosedStart Date
13 June 2019Expected End Date
12 June 2024Completed Date
26 September 2024Participating Countries
Brazil, China, Denmark, Spain, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Kingdom of the Netherlands, United States of AmericaDescription
The impacts of drought and flooding due to soil water shortage, soil water saturation or soil structure damage can be detrimental to agricultural production and social and economic impact affecting rural communities. This CRP aims to use innovative in-situ and cost-effective nuclear and related conventional tools for assessing the impact of these emergencies on agricultural production using in-situ and mobile cosmic ray neutron probes, airborne multispectral analysis for soil water and crop water status monitoring, wireless soil water point measurements, and IT tools for online emergency information management. This work can also improve climate change related emergency preparedness in agriculture in Member States.
Objectives
Establishing landscape soil moisture sensing using novel CRNS for improving agricultural water management practices and climate resilience strategies
Specific Objectives
Advancing the capabilities of CRNS for Best Management Practices (BMP) in irrigated and rainfed agricultural production systems
Integrating CRNS, GRS, remote sensing and hydrological modelling for improving agricultural water management and its resilience at regional scales
Developing the approaches using CRNS and GRS for long-term soil moisture monitoring in agricultural systems and early warning systems for flood and drought management
Advancing the capabilities of CRNS for Best Management Practices (BMP) in irrigated and rainfed agricultural production systems
Integrating CRNS, GRS, remote sensing and hydrological modelling for improving agricultural water management and its resilience at regional scales
Developing the approaches using CRNS and GRS for long-term soil moisture monitoring in agricultural systems and early warning systems for flood and drought management
Impact
The CRP had a great impact on the soil science research community involved in the participating countries. The CRNS monitoring activities for enhancing agricultural water management was encouraged. The results of the CRP were published and widely disseminated. This CRP had a great impact also on education. In total 14 PhD projects and 14 MSc projects were based on this CRP.
Relevance
Based on the outcomes and methodological advancements of the CRNS within this CRP, it has attracted significant attention from Member States. As CRNS technology has matured under this CRP, it is now ready for broader exploitation, enabling the establishment and expansion of long-term soil moisture monitoring globally. In particular, increasing soil moisture monitoring in the Global South is critical for better understanding and utilizing soil moisture in smart agriculture and hydrological modelling. As a result, several TCPs—national, regional, and interregional—were initiated by the IAEA, including among others, RAF5086: Promoting Sustainable Agriculture under Changing Climatic Conditions Using Nuclear Technology and RER5028: Improving Efficiency in Water and Soil Management. A total of 50 CRNS units are currently being procured across these TCPs. Furthermore, the CRNS technology will be disseminated through extrabudgetary IAEA projects such as Soil Mapping for Resilient Agrifood Systems (SoilFER), funded by the United States.
CRP Publications
Mexico
Conference paper
2020
Yepez, E., Martínez-García L., Sanchez-Mejia, Z., Gaxiola, F., Alvarez-Yepiz J. C., Torres-Velazquez J. R., Penuelas-Rubio, O. (2020) Cosmic ray technology to determine soil moisture at a wheat field in Yaqui Valley. V Congreso Nacional de Tecnología y Ciencias Ambientales. October 20-23, 2020.