CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER DEMAND OF MELON PLANTS IN JAGUARIBE-APODI REGION, BRAZIL

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate the impacts of climate change on irrigation water demand of melon plants grown in Jaguaribe-Apodi Irrigation District (DIJA), which is located between the states of Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte, in Northeastern Brazil. Future scenarios were developed using the Eta-CPTEC/HadCM3 climate change projections, after being submitted to downscaling method. We used a set of climate data from the same model for the period of 1961 through 1990, and further projections after bias correction. Local geographic coordinates were interpolated using GIS technique...