Soil water management in the rain-fed farming systems of the Mediterranean region

Abstract

This paper summarizes the essential features of the Mediterranean climate and its associated soils and farming systems. Rain falls mainly during the winter so that crops must usually rely on stored soil moisture when they are growing most rapidly. Water use efficiency of dry matter production can be increased in three ways but chiefly by decreasing evaporation from the soil surface. Soil and crop management techniques used to increase water use efficiency are reviewed.