The Water Footprint of Crops in the Area of Mesogeia, Attiki, Greece

The Water Footprint (WF) is a particularly useful methodological tool in agricultural water management, through the demonstration of water intensive crops and the determination of water consumption. In this study, we tried to estimate the WF of 42 crop species in the area of Mesogeia, Attiki, Greece. The estimation of crop evapotranspiration was based on both the Blaney-Criddle and the Penman-Monteith methods. The WF assessment was followed by water consumption calculation. Higher WF presented the apples, the olive trees and the vineyards, and more specifically, it was found that olive trees and vineyards together account for approximately 95% of the overall water consumption in the agricultural sector of the area. Application of the Blaney-Criddle method resulted in higher WF and water consumptions for the majority of the crops, compared to the Penman-Monteith method. In conclusion, the water footprint analysis can provide a transparent framework to identify possible solutions to existing problems in water resources management. Through the demonstration of the water demanding crops, as well as of the contribution of each water use (blue, green and grey) to the total consumption, it becomes possible to achieve an efficient allocation of water resources at a regional scale, as well as to demonstrate potentially erroneous agricultural practices.