ECIRA - European crop-specific irrigated area at 1 km resolution annually from 2010 to 2020

Abstract Irrigation significantly contributes to total water withdrawal and exhibits considerable spatial and temporal variability, particularly in more humid regions. This variability is caused by climate, soil properties, and crop water requirements. However, time series of high-resolution, crop-s...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wanxue Zhu, Josef Baumert, Hugo Storm, Thomas Heckelei, Stefan Siebert
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-08-01
Series:Scientific Data
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05628-y
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849333771518607360
author Wanxue Zhu
Josef Baumert
Hugo Storm
Thomas Heckelei
Stefan Siebert
author_facet Wanxue Zhu
Josef Baumert
Hugo Storm
Thomas Heckelei
Stefan Siebert
author_sort Wanxue Zhu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Irrigation significantly contributes to total water withdrawal and exhibits considerable spatial and temporal variability, particularly in more humid regions. This variability is caused by climate, soil properties, and crop water requirements. However, time series of high-resolution, crop-specific irrigated area data remain scarce in Europe. We developed and applied a method to harmonize input data on crop types and irrigation to obtain the European Crop-specific IRrigated Area (ECIRA) dataset, providing annual 1-km gridded crop-specific irrigated area for 16 crop types across 28 European countries for 2010–2020. The ECIRA dataset effectively identifies crop-specific irrigated hotspots, aligns with subnational census data, and strongly agrees with LUCAS field observations and other survey-based crop-specific irrigation area datasets. However, caution is needed for region- and location-specific studies, as the Europe-wide scope of ECIRA entails a trade-off between local details and overall consistency. It can be used in assessments of crop productivity and crop water use, as input in land surface-, crop-, and hydrological modeling, in climate impact studies and to support improved water resources management.
format Article
id doaj-art-42d383ff4b654f189aa8bac8b77c550c
institution Kabale University
issn 2052-4463
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Scientific Data
spelling doaj-art-42d383ff4b654f189aa8bac8b77c550c2025-08-20T03:45:45ZengNature PortfolioScientific Data2052-44632025-08-0112112110.1038/s41597-025-05628-yECIRA - European crop-specific irrigated area at 1 km resolution annually from 2010 to 2020Wanxue Zhu0Josef Baumert1Hugo Storm2Thomas Heckelei3Stefan Siebert4Department of Crop Sciences, University of GöttingenInstitute for Food and Resource Economics (ILR), University of BonnInstitute for Food and Resource Economics (ILR), University of BonnInstitute for Food and Resource Economics (ILR), University of BonnDepartment of Crop Sciences, University of GöttingenAbstract Irrigation significantly contributes to total water withdrawal and exhibits considerable spatial and temporal variability, particularly in more humid regions. This variability is caused by climate, soil properties, and crop water requirements. However, time series of high-resolution, crop-specific irrigated area data remain scarce in Europe. We developed and applied a method to harmonize input data on crop types and irrigation to obtain the European Crop-specific IRrigated Area (ECIRA) dataset, providing annual 1-km gridded crop-specific irrigated area for 16 crop types across 28 European countries for 2010–2020. The ECIRA dataset effectively identifies crop-specific irrigated hotspots, aligns with subnational census data, and strongly agrees with LUCAS field observations and other survey-based crop-specific irrigation area datasets. However, caution is needed for region- and location-specific studies, as the Europe-wide scope of ECIRA entails a trade-off between local details and overall consistency. It can be used in assessments of crop productivity and crop water use, as input in land surface-, crop-, and hydrological modeling, in climate impact studies and to support improved water resources management.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05628-y
spellingShingle Wanxue Zhu
Josef Baumert
Hugo Storm
Thomas Heckelei
Stefan Siebert
ECIRA - European crop-specific irrigated area at 1 km resolution annually from 2010 to 2020
Scientific Data
title ECIRA - European crop-specific irrigated area at 1 km resolution annually from 2010 to 2020
title_full ECIRA - European crop-specific irrigated area at 1 km resolution annually from 2010 to 2020
title_fullStr ECIRA - European crop-specific irrigated area at 1 km resolution annually from 2010 to 2020
title_full_unstemmed ECIRA - European crop-specific irrigated area at 1 km resolution annually from 2010 to 2020
title_short ECIRA - European crop-specific irrigated area at 1 km resolution annually from 2010 to 2020
title_sort ecira european crop specific irrigated area at 1 km resolution annually from 2010 to 2020
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05628-y
work_keys_str_mv AT wanxuezhu eciraeuropeancropspecificirrigatedareaat1kmresolutionannuallyfrom2010to2020
AT josefbaumert eciraeuropeancropspecificirrigatedareaat1kmresolutionannuallyfrom2010to2020
AT hugostorm eciraeuropeancropspecificirrigatedareaat1kmresolutionannuallyfrom2010to2020
AT thomasheckelei eciraeuropeancropspecificirrigatedareaat1kmresolutionannuallyfrom2010to2020
AT stefansiebert eciraeuropeancropspecificirrigatedareaat1kmresolutionannuallyfrom2010to2020