Application of Colored Water Footprint Accounting in the Special Products Cropping Pattern of Arid Regions (Case Study: Plain of Birjand)

Water footprint index is a global index which can be as an indicator of real consumptive water base on region climate condition. Knowing and evaluating actual water consumption of different agricultural products are important and this evaluation gives a suitable solution to decrease agricultural water consumption. The purpose of this study is to calculate the economic footprint of Birjand's main products in 2016. In this study, to study the water footprint and accounting water footprint of agricultural products, nine major products in Birjand including barley, wheat, saffron, vegetables, jelly products, cotton, alfalfa, jujube and barberry were studied and these indexes were calculated. The results of this study showed that the total water footprint in the production of main products was estimated to be 22 Mm3 in 2016. Most of the economic footprint is related to the water footprint. Among the agricultural products, the volume of virtual water trade for the exported products of saffron, barberry and jujube were 0.27, 0.26 and 0.017 million cubic meters respectively in the year 2016.