Water scarcity has received global attention in the last decade as it challenges food security in arid and semi-arid regions, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa. This research assesses the possible alleviation of water scarcity by reducing the water footprint in crop production through the application of soil mulching and drip irrigation. The study is the first to do so at catchment scale, taking into account various crops, multi-cropping, cropping patterns, and spatial differences in climate, soil, and field management factors, using field survey and local data. The AquaCrop-OS model and the global water footprint assessment (WFA) standard were used to assess the green and blue water footprint (WF) of ten major crops in the Upper Litani Basin (ULB) in Lebanon. The blue water saving and blue water scarcity reduction under these two alternative practices were compared to the current situation. The results show that the WF of crop production is more sensitive to climate than soil type. The annual blue WF of summer crops was largest when water availability was lowest. Mulching reduced the blue WF by 3.6% and mulching combined with drip irrigation reduced it by 4.7%. The blue water saving from mulching was estimated about 6.3 million m3/y and from mulching combined with drip irrigation about 8.3 million m3/y. This is substantial but by far not sufficient to reduce the overall blue WF in summer to a sustainable level at catchment scale.

14 páginas.-- 4 figuras.-- 3 tablas.-- 147 referencias.-- : Galindo,A., et al...Water scarcity in Mediterranean climate areas will be progressively aggravated by climate change, population increase and urban, tourism and industrial activities. To protect water resources and their integrity for future use and to improve biodiversity, besides following advanced deficit irrigation strategies in fruit cultivation, attention could well be directed towards what are at present underused plant materials able to withstand deficit irrigation with minimum impact on yield and fruit quality. To this end, the state of the art as regards deficit irrigation strategies and the response of some very interesting emerging fruit crops [jujube (Zizyphus jujuba Mill.), loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.), pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) and pomegranate (Punica granatum L.)] are reviewed. The strengths and weaknesses of deficit irrigation strategies and the mechanisms developed by these emerging fruit crops in the face of water stress are discussed. The response of these crops to deficit irrigation, with special attention paid to the effect on yield but also on fruit quality and health-related chemical compounds, was analysed in order to assess their suitability for saving water in Mediterranean semiarid agrosystems and to analyze their potential role as alternatives to currently cultivated fruit crops with higher water requirements. Finally, the factors involved in establishing an identity brand (hydroSOS) to protect fruits obtained under specific DI conditions are discussed.We are also grateful to the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España (MINECO) (CICYT/FEDER AGL2013-45922-C2-1-R, AGL2013-45922-C2-2-R, AGL2016-75794-C4-1-R and AGL2016-75794-C4-4-R) for grants to the authors. AG and JC-G acknowledge the postdoctoral financial support received from the Ramón Areces Fondation and the Juan de la Cierva program, respectively. Also, this work is a result of the PR internship (19925/IV/15) funded by the Fundación Séneca – Agencia de Ciencia y Tecnología de la Región de Murcia (Seneca Foundation – Agency for Science and Technology in the Region of Murcia) under the Jiménez de la Espada Program for Mobility, Cooperation and Internationalization.Peer reviewe