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Analysis of institutional authors

Garrido, AlbertoAuthor

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December 24, 2019
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Cross-sectoral implications of the implementation of irrigation water use efficiency policies in Spain: A nexus footprint approach

Publicated to: ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS. 109 (105795): 105795- - 2020-02-01 109(105795), DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105795

Authors:

Willaarts, BA; Lechón, Y; Mayor, B; de la Rúa, C; Garrido, A
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Affiliations

Ctr Invest Energet Medioambientales & Tecnol CIEM - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Res Ctr Management Environm & Agr Risks CEIGRAM - Author
Water Observ Botin Fdn - Author
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Abstract

One technical solution often suggested for alleviating water scarcity is to increase the efficiency of irrigation water use. In Spain, several plans have been launched since 2000 to upgrade irrigation infrastructures and thereby achieve water savings equivalent to 2500 hm(3)/year and promote rural development. The present study uses a footprint approach to evaluate the impacts on land, water, energy, and carbon emissions of the implementation of irrigation modernization policies in agriculture in Spain between 2005 and 2011. The results show that during the period studied, the irrigated area remained stable (+0.3%), although there was a shift in crop patterns, with low-value non-permanent crops being replaced by high-value permanent crops. The water demand for irrigation decreased by 21%; half of this is explained by the shift in crop patterns and the reduction of the consumptive fraction (i.e., blue water footprint), and the other half by the cutback of return flows associated with the higher efficiency of the irrigation infrastructure. Changes in water demand have been accompanied by a progressive substitution of surface water for groundwater. Reduced water demand for irrigation has brought a reduction of 13% in water's energy footprint and 25% in its carbon footprint. In relative terms, water efficiency (m(3) consumed/m(3) irrigated) has increased by 8%, although this has also increased the energy intensity (kWh/m(3)) to 9%. The emission rate (kgCO(2) equiv/m(3) irrigated) has decreased by 12% as a result of the drop in the emission factor of electricity production. Overall, irrigation modernization policies in Spain have supported the transition from an irrigation sector that is less technified and heavily dependent on surface water into one that is more productive and groundwater-based. From a resource-use perspective, such transition has contributed to stabilizing or even decreasing the irrigated land, and surpass the annual water savings target of 2500 hm(3), although it has also made the sector more energy-dependent. Despite the overall positive outcomes, the observed water savings are masked by various synergistic factors, including favorable climatological conditions toward the end of the study period, which contributed strongly to curbing overall irrigation water demand. In the light of the higher frequency of observed droughts in Spain, the investments done so far do not guarantee that the planned water saving targets can be sustained if not complemented with additional measures like restricting irrigated area and/or setting caps for water intensive crops.
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Keywords

CarbonCarbon footprintConservationEnergyEnergy footprintGroundwaterGroundwater useIrrigation modernizationManagementModernizationParadoxResourcesSurface waterWater footprintWater scarcityWater-food-energy nexus

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2020, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Decision Sciences (Miscellaneous). Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations from Scopus Elsevier, it yields a value for the Field-Weighted Citation Impact from the Scopus agency: 1.52, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 13, 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2026-04-25, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 19
  • Scopus: 22
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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-25:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 112.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 108 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 1.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 2 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: https://oa.upm.es/87548/

As a result of the publication of the work in the institutional repository, statistical usage data has been obtained that reflects its impact. In terms of dissemination, we can state that, as of

  • Views: 321
  • Downloads: 138
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Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Austria.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: Last Author (GARRIDO COLMENERO, ALBERTO).

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Awards linked to the item

This research was supported by Fundacion Canal de Isabel II through the project Water, Food and Energy Nexus in Spain II [Grant Number 140000CEI3006, 2014-2016] and by the Botin Foundation. The authors would like to express their gratitude to Jorge Ruiz Fernandez and Matthew Witkin for their support in the data collection and processing.
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