Despite the plethora of irrigation scheduling decision support systems that have been developed over the past decades, there is little evidence of widespread adoption by farmers. This paper investigates the structural, institutional and political rigidities that affect the adoption of irrigation scheduling technologies in southern European countries and highlights the corresponding opportunities. The recent implementation of water pricing policies, as required under the European Water Framework Directive, could motivate farmers to invest in technologies for improving water management. A review of irrigation water prices in southern Europe found a large range of prices both within and between countries, from 0.054–0.645 €/m³ (Greece) to 0.23–1.50 €/m³ (France). However, inadequate monitoring infrastructure and a lack of political will to impose the new water prices are giving a mixed signal to farmers. An ageing and poorly trained farm population, small farm size and low level of farm investment also impede the uptake of irrigation technologies. Within this context, European-funded research needs to consider these constraints and pay closer attention to the conversion of knowledge and innovation into successful commercial products.

Despite the widespread presence of groundwater recharge check dams, there are few studies that quantify their functionality. The objectives of this study are (i) to assess groundwater recharge in an ephemeral river with and without a check dam and (ii) to assess sediment build-up in the check-dam reservoir. Field campaigns were carried out to measure water flow, water depth, and check-dam topography to establish water volume, evaporation, outflow, and recharge relations, as well as sediment build-up. To quantify the groundwater recharge, a water-balance approach was applied at two locations: at the check dam reservoir area and at an 11 km long natural stretch of the river upstream. Prediction intervals were computed to assess the uncertainties of the results. During the four years of operation, the check dam (storage capacity of 25,000 m³) recharged the aquifer with an average of 3.1 million m³ of the 10.4 million m³ year⁻¹ of streamflow (30%). The lower and upper uncertainty limits of the check dam recharge were 0.1 and 9.6 million m³ year⁻¹, respectively. Recharge from the upstream stretch was 1.5 million m³ year⁻¹. These results indicate that check dams are valuable structures for increasing groundwater resources in semi-arid regions.

We introduce a field survey method to assess the conservation condition of landscapes. Using a popular rapid assessment format, this study defines observable “stressed states” identified through the use of general metrics to gauge landscape degradation. Fifteen metrics within six thematic categories were selected through a literature review and extensive field trials. Field tests on the Greek island of Samothraki show a strong correlation between a single expert’s scores and five assessor’s scores at 35 landscape sites. Only three of the metrics did not maintain a high consistency among assessors; however, this is explained by the difficulty of interpreting certain anthropogenic stressors (such as livestock grazing) in Mediterranean semi-natural landscapes with culturally-modified vegetation patterns. The protocol and proposed index, with five conservation condition classes, identified areas of excellent and good quality, and reliably distinguished the most degraded landscape conditions on the island. Uncertainties and difficulties of the index are investigated, and further research and validation are proposed. The protocol effectively goes beyond a traditional visual aesthetic assessment; it can be used both by experts and non-scientists as a conservation-relevant multi-disciplinary procedure to support a holistic landscape diagnosis. The combination of an on-site experiential survey and its simple integrative format may be useful as a screening-level index, and for promoting local participation, landscape literacy and educational initiatives.