Blue and green water management is vital for sustainable and resilient food systems around the world.
This is true not only in drylands, where any productive activity is deeply related to the understanding of soil hydrological behaviour, and irrigation and green water management are key for agroecosystems’ health (e.g. being a defence against desertification), but in every socio-ecological ecosystem.
Also temperate or humid climates are, in fact, increasingly subjected to variations in the hydrological cycle, as well as to water scarcity and/or mis-management. Improper practices, which are not able to cope with climate-induced threats, may contribute to soil degradation and depletion of the available water resource. For example, incorrect irrigation techniques may lead to soil and groundwater salinization, with dramatic fallout on agricultural productivity.
Irrigation expansion, and paradoxically -through complex socio-hydrological dynamics- also irrigation efficiency improvements, could lead to increasing water consumption and water scarcity conditions . On the other hand, the role of irrigation goes beyond the technological aspects: traditional irrigation is a cultural heritage, which is often structurally resilient, and which needs to be faced with an interdisciplinary approach involving humanities.

This session welcomes contributions with a specific focus on:
- The understanding of the soil hydrological behaviour and of the mass fluxes through the soil in both drylands and environments under actual or projected water stress conditions (e.g. water shortage and/or mis-management, compaction, salinization)
- The understanding of the sociohydrological dynamics linking irrigation, green water, and soil management
- The interaction between irrigation, soil hydrology (including deep drainage) and socio-economic impacts.
- The analysis of the bio-geo-physical and social dynamics related to rainfed and irrigated agriculture in both arid and non-arid areas and oases, including rainwater harvesting, and managed aquifer recharge systems
- The management of rangeland areas, including their restoration
- The management and conservation of traditional irrigation systems, including the provision of co-benefits and ecosystem services

This session is co—sponsored by the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID - https://icid-ciid.org/home); and by the International Center for Agriculture Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA - https://icarda.org/).