摘要
Trends in land use and water consumption are crucial components in understanding the changing nature of agricultural production and water use in- the Northern Jordan Valley. The objective of this study is to examine current agricultural land uses in the Jordan Valley and their water consumption patterns as well as to examine the changes in land use and water consumption that occurred between the years 2002 and 2010. Farm level cropping patterns and total annual water use were analysed in order to examine inter-basin land use and water consumption characteristics as well as to estimate the amount of water consumed by each respective crop in total and per unit of land devoted to its production. It was found that citrus production dominated both land and water usage in every basin of the Northern Jordan Valley and that between 2002 and 2010 there were shifts toward increasing citrus production in almost every basin surveyed. It was found that agricultural irrigation water usage decreased overall between 2002 and 2010 by approximately 15 percent and irrigated land usage in the Jordan Valley increased by 5 percent. The role of citrus farming is becoming more important in the Jordan Valley as Jordan＇s agricultural economy shifts away from subsistence farming for staple food crops like wheat and vegetables toward more financially lucrative crops grown for an increasingly international market. This trend is at least partly due to the increasing cost of agricultural irrigation water from Jordan＇s national canal system.
