Many claim that we use too much water for our plants here in the southwest and we should not plant non native plants because we of water table shortages. A new study from Northern Illinois University may suggest the opposite. Although this is for crops, there may not be a significant difference to landscape maintenance plants.
Crop Irrigation May Cool Midwest Temperatures
Researchers from Northern Illinois University suggest a
link between agriculture in the American Midwest and
observed declines in summer temperatures and increased
rainfall in the region.
An NIU team of climatologists led by David Changnon
believes that increased production of irrigated row crops and
closer plant spacing — and the resulting growth in water
consumption per acre — are the likely source. Properly applied irrigation water is
used by plants, evaporated and then condensed into clouds, falling as rain,
rather than running off into rivers and streams or soaking back into the ground.
Current climate models fail to take irrigation into account. A future study will
compare simulation results with and without irrigation to try to clarify the
source of increased rainfall on the Great Plains. For more information, visit
www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/55527/title/crop_irrigation_could_be
__cooling_midwest.
