A New Tool for Monitoring Vegetation Water Use and Efficiency to Support Sustainable Agroecosystem Management

Dec 30, 2024

Oklahoma and Texas are facing significant future water shortages that threaten farming and ranching communities. Though conservation-based management practices are being implemented across the states, there are inadequate tools for monitoring vegetation water use efficiency in real time. Researchers supported by this South Central CASC project will develop a web-based tool using high-resolution satellite data to evaluate plant water use and efficiency as environmental changes occur, allowing farmers, ranchers, and government agencies to make informed decisions about sustainable water management.

Oklahoma and Texas will likely face significant water shortages in the future, which could greatly impact their farming and ranching communities. Both states are actively promoting conservation-based land management practices, such as precision agriculture, cover crops, crop switching, and sustainable watershed management. However, the tools currently used to assess the effectiveness of these practices lack the precision needed to determine how efficiently water is being used. Because these existing tools produce inaccurate estimates of water use, it is difficult for farmers and ranchers to make important decisions about water allocation.

This project team will develop a new web-based tool capable of accurately measuring plant water consumption, productivity, and water use efficiency in real time. To do this, the tool will use high-resolution satellite data and advanced computer models to monitor changes in vegetation water use and water use efficiency as the changes occur. The project has the potential to facilitate partnerships with agricultural experts and government agencies to assess the tool's effectiveness and real-world applicability.

A user-friendly website will provide detailed data to help stakeholders make informed decisions about sustainable water management, particularly as climate change worsens water scarcity. Ultimately, this project seeks to use advanced technology to manage water wisely, ensuring our ability to adapt to the challenges of water scarcity in the face of climate change.

Source : usgs.gov

Video: Spring 2026 weather outlook for Wisconsin; What an early-arriving El Niño could mean

Northeast Wisconsin is a small corner of the world, but our weather is still affected by what happens across the globe.

That includes in the equatorial Pacific, where changes between El Niño and La Niña play a role in the weather here -- and boy, have there been some abrupt changes as of late.

El Niño and La Niña are the two phases of what is collectively known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO for short. These are the swings back and forth from unusually warm to unusually cold sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator.

Since this past September, we have been in a weak La Niña, which means water temperatures near the Eastern Pacific equator have been cooler than usual. That's where we're at right now.

Even last fall, the long-term outlook suggested a return to neutral conditions by spring and potentially El Niño conditions by summer.

But there are some signs this may be happening faster than usual, which could accelerate the onset of El Niño.

Over the last few weeks, unusually strong bursts of westerly winds farther west in the Pacific -- where sea surface temperatures are warmer than average -- have been observed. There is a chance that this could accelerate the warming of those eastern Pacific waters and potentially push us into El Niño sooner than usual.

If we do enter El Nino by spring -- which we'll define as the period of March, April and May -- there are some long-term correlations with our weather here in Northeast Wisconsin.

Looking at a map of anomalously warm weather, most of the upper Great Lakes doesn't show a strong correlation, but in general, the northern tiers of the United States do tend to lean to that direction.

The stronger correlation is with precipitation. El Niño conditions in spring have historically come with a higher risk of very dry weather over that time frame, so this will definitely be a transition we'll have to watch closely as we move out of winter.