Page 217 - Biosystems Engineering

CHAPTER 6

Design of

Sustainable Water

Management

Systems

R. Sri Ranjan
Department of Biosystems Engineering
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

6.1 Introduction
Soil and water engineering, one of the core branches within biosys-
tems engineering, deals with the interaction between soil, water, and
plants. Plants require water and nutrients for sustained growth, and
biosystems engineers design irrigation and drainage systems that can
provide an ideal soil environment for sustainable crop production.
Thus, designing sustainable water management systems is a major
area within biosystems engineering. Biosystems engineers are knowl-
edgeable about soil physical and chemical properties and plant phys-
iology to understand the interaction of the plant roots with the soil.
Irrigation systems are designed to deliver water and nutrients at the
right quantities to enable optimum plant growth. Drainage systems
remove excess water and salts from the soil and maintain optimum
aeration of the plant root zone.
If the irrigation water quality is poor, there is possibility of salt
accumulation within the root zone that will render the soil unproduc-
tive. This process of salt accumulation within the root zone is known
as salinization. There is ample evidence in history where civilizations
have disappeared because of crop failure due to salinization of the

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