Mapping the Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Irrigation in the Coastal Plain of Georgia, USA

This study maps the spatial and temporal evolution of acres irrigated in the Coastal Plain of Georgia over a 38 year period. The goal of this analysis is to create a time-series of irrigated areas in the Coastal Plain of Georgia at a sub-county level. From 1976 through 2013, Landsat images were obtained and sampled at four year intervals to manually detect Center-Pivot irrigation (CPI) systems in the analysis region. During the 38 year analysis period there was a 4,500 percent increase in CPI systems detected that corresponded to an approximate 2,000 percent increase in total acreage. The bulk of the total acreage irrigated is contained in southwest Georgia, as seven counties in the region contained 38 percent of the total acreage irrigated in 2013. There was substantial growth throughout the entire Coastal Plain Region, but southwest Georgia was identified as the most heavily irrigated region of the state.