Water board Aa en Maas (The Netherlands)  is located in the South-East , it is rather flat and slopes from the south to the north. The area is known as on of the driest areas in the Netherlands, as a result large parts are irrigated (supplementary irrigation). Recent years drought seems to have increased whereas possibilities for water supply and surface water abstraction decreased. Water board Aa en Maas is responsible for the design and management of the water system in the case study area.

http://www.aaenmaas.nl/index.html

Farmers irrigate by sprinkling, recent also subsurface drainage is introduced and increases fast. Water supply (from the river Meuse) reaches the area via a system of channels with several inlets. Abstraction from surface water is allowed unless the discharge or water level drop below minimum levels. Irrigation from groundwater is allowed unless at the start of the growing season a minimum ground water level is not met.

The farm produces maize for grain production and also biofuel.

Meteorological data from the regional network, hydrological stations, irrigation volumes, soil moisture measurements, groundwater levels, satellite data in the visible and thermal infrared, soil type, land use.

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