Global Map of Irrigation Areas

Germany

Surveys of the German Sprinkler Association undertaken in the years 1995 and 2001 indicate that about 500 000 ha are equipped for sprinkler irrigation in Germany ([DE01], [DE02]). An area of about 5 000 ha is under micro irrigation (mainly drip irrigation in vineyards). In the north-eastern part of the country there are about 600 000 ha of equipped lowlands. Combined drainage / subsurface irrigation facilities were installed there to manage peat soils and groundwater near sandy sites. Surface irrigation methods are not used anymore [DE03]. Irrigation is mainly practiced on arable land and in most irrigation areas only specific crops in a crop rotation are irrigated (e.g. potatoes, sugar beets, maize, vegetables). Therefore the area actually irrigated was only 236 797 ha in 1998 and 220 907 ha in 2002. Arable crops covered about 79% of the irrigation area, horticulture 17% and perennial crops about 4% ([DE04], [DE05]). Sub-national statistics on area equipped for irrigation were compiled from different sources because official statistics do not exist in Germany. The main source of information was the survey of the German Sprinkler Association undertaken in 2001 that provided figures for the 16 federal states [DE02]. For the federal state of Niedersachsen, where about 47% of the irrigated area is concentrated, statistics per county were provided by the local branch of the Sprinkler Association [DE06] while statistics for Sachsen-Anhalt, also on the county level, were derived from the literature [DE07]. The figures for the federal state of Hessen were replaced by statistics taken from a recently published report [DE08]. The original statistics on area equipped for irrigation and are actually irrigated by federal state are as follows:

The figures used to compile the irrigation map are shown in the table below. The total area equipped for irrigation in Germany was 496 871 ha. Irrigation in equipped lowlands were neglected because it was reported, that operation and maintenance of the subsurface irrigation systems were drastically reduced during the transformation process of irrigated agriculture in Eastern Germany. Thus the water use statistics also do not account for these systems. There are initiatives to reactivate the systems of ditches, control structures, weirs and pumping stations because under the climatic conditions there is a high requirement for water retention and impounded water irrigation on cultivated grassland in north-eastern Germany. However, the focus is more on the protection of the peat soils and wetlands than on increasing agricultural production [DE03].

Irrigation areas within the sub-national units were located and digitized using maps and information taken from the literature ([DE08]-[DE14]). Irrigated area was assigned to cultivated land derived from the Corine 2000 land cover data base for Europe [DE15] located within the digitized polygons. However, for some regions irrigation maps were not available (e.g. Saarland). Therefore, in the western part of the country, irrigated area was also assigned to arable land on coarse soils [DE16].

References

[DE01]: Roth, D., Eggers, T., Seesselberg, F. & Albrecht, M. 1995. Status of sprinkler irrigation in Germany – an analysis of the Federal Sprinkler Irrigation Association. Zeitschrift für Bewässerungswirtschaft 30 (2), 113-120.
[DE02]: Fricke, E. & Heidorn, H. 2004. Effizientes landwirtschaftliches Beregnungs-Management. Report available at: http://www.fachverband-feldberegnung.de/basisinfo.htm, 26/07/2006.
[DE03]: Quast, J., Ehlert, V., Lübbe, E., Sourell, H. & Wenkel, K.O. 2006. Country report from Germany. In: Dirksen, W. and Huppert, W. (ed.). Irrigation sector reform in Central and Eastern European countries. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), Eschborn, Germany, 119-160.
[DE04]: Statistisches Bundesamt. 2001. Wasserversorgung und Abwasserbeseitigung in der Industrie und in der Landwirtschaft 1998. Fachserie 19, Reihe 2.2, Wiesbaden, Germany, 39 pp.
[DE05]: Statistisches Bundesamt. 2004. Statistik der Wasserversorgung in der Landwirtschaft 2002. Wiesbaden, Germany, 13 pp.
[DE06]: Fricke, E. 2005. Optimierte Nährstoffausnutzung durch Bewässerung. Presentation held on the Agritechnica Forum 2005, 19 pp., available at: http://www.fachverband-feldberegnung.de/basisinfo.htm, 26/07/2006.
[DE07]: Schrödter, M. 2003. Stand der Beregnung in Sachsen-Anhalt - Entwicklung eines gemeinsamen Beratungskonzepts zur Beregnung in Mitteldeutschland. Ministerium für Landwirtschaft und Umwelt, 5 pp., available at: http://www1.mlu.sachsen-anhalt.de/llg/infothek/, 07/07/2006.
[DE08]: Witzel, D. 2005. Menge und Qualität von Zusatzwasser im Hessischen Ried. Presentation held on the irrigation conference 2005 of the German Agricultural Society (DLG), 29/06/2005, Groß-Umstatt, Germany, available at: http://www.dlg.org/de/landwirtschaft/fachgremien/feldberegnung/ fachtagung05.html, 07/07/2006.
[DE09]: Sourell, H. & Albrecht, M. 2000. Stand und Entwicklungstendenzen der Beregnungstechnik. Zeitschrift für Bewässerungswirtschaft 35 (1), 63-75.
[DE10]: Erlenbach, K.H. 1984. Feldberegnung in Nordrhein-Westfalen. Zeitschrift für Bewässerungswirtschaft 19 (1), 30-46.
[DE11]: Breuch-Moritz, M. & Wild, A. 1989. Eine klimatologische Untersuchung zur Sickerwasserbildung in einem Beregnungsgebiet Bayerns am Beispiel Regensburg. Zeitschrift für Bewässerungswirtschaft 24 (1), 6-25.
[DE12]: Hermann, E.W. 1985. Entwicklung und Stand der Feldberegnung in Hessen. Zeitschrift für Bewässerungswirtschaft 20 (1), 38-54.
[DE13]: Joba, J. & Martin, K.H. 1984. Feldberegnung in Baden-Württemberg. Zeitschrift für Bewässerungswirtschaft 19 (1), 47-68.
[DE14]: Framji, K.K., Garg, B.C. & Luthra, S.D.L. 1981. Irrigation and drainage in the world. Third edition. Vol. I, p. 395. New Delhi, ICID.
[DE15]: EEA. 2005. Corine land cover 2000 – vector by country (CLC2000), version 1. (available at: http://dataservice.eea.europa.eu/dataservice/metadetails.asp?id=667).
[DE16]: The Commission of the European Communities, Directorate General for Agriculture, Coordination of Agricultural Research. 1985. Soil Map of the European Communities at 1:1 000 000. The Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, ISBN 92-825-5427-9, L-2985 Luxembourg, 124 pages (modified version available in digital format as data set GNV153 at http://www.grid.unep.ch/data/, 07/07/2006).

Distribution of irrigated area in Germany by County and State: