The increase in the water demand for irrigation is a matter of concern of water resources management institutions and of the population from the Distrito Federal in Brazil. The objectives of this work were to determine the variation of the irrigated area by center pivot in the Brazilian Distrito Federal in the period between 1992 and 2002, in order to estimate the water demand by these systems of irrigation, as well as to verify its importance in relation to human consumption. Using satellite images and GIS tools, the center pivot irrigated areas were determined and the water consumption by the main irrigated crops in this region was estimated using reference data obtained from the literature. In the period between 1992 and 2002, the number of center pivots in the Distrito Federal increased from 55 to 104 and the corresponding irrigated area changed from 3.894 to 6.823 ha; consequently, the consumption of water increased from 23.36 to 40.94 million m³ year-1. Although the demand of water for irrigation by center pivot in the Federal District is less representative than by human water consumption, the demand for irrigation has been growing in a higher rate, indicating a significant change in this trend.
irrigated agriculture; GIS; water resources
