As a possible outcome of global climate change, reductions in precipitation, while directly decreasing surface water streamflows and reserves, can also initiate or exacerbate the surface water demand by regional agriculture. Driven by the desire to maintain consistent yields and hedge the risk of drought, farmers may implement or increase supplemental irrigation applications, obtaining water from either surface sources or aquifers. This paper presents results of an investigation of the impact of these effects on streamflows in the midwestern United States. The investigation examines the direct effect of precipitation reduction and the indirect effects of riparian and nonriparian irrigation. The crop-growth and farm-scale hydrologie [...]
