ERL&ERC联合特刊精选|Future of Water-Limited Agricultural Landscapes

特刊详情

客座编辑

• Caitlin A Peterson，美国加利福尼亚公共政策研究所
• Francisco Fernández，智利马约尔大学
• Kristen Dybala，美国Point Blue Conservation Science公司
• Kyle Frankel Davis，美国特拉华大学
• Rajan Ghimire，美国新墨西哥州立大学
• Rose Roche，澳大利亚CSIRO Agriculture & Food机构
• Uday Nidumolu，澳大利亚CSIRO Agriculture & Food机构

主题范围

Water-limited environments contain some of the world’s most important irrigated and rainfed agricultural landscapes, from the San Joaquin Valley of California to the Murray-Darling basin and Australian wheat belt, the Indo-Gangetic basin of South Asia, and many others. Yet there is growing evidence that agricultural production in these regions is approaching its limits and that current practices may not be sustained. What happens to these lands when changing climates and political environments mean that business-as-usual agricultural production is no longer an option?

This special issue examines water-dependent lands in transition, including irrigated croplands transitioning to dryland agriculture, dryland cropping systems transitioning to mixed livestock-cropping systems or predominantly livestock grazing, semi-arid environments becoming more arid, and similar system transformations spurred by water scarcity. More specifically, it looks at the benefits and tradeoffs from alternative land uses in areas that can no longer rely on water from precipitation or irrigation.

• How can these lands become liabilities or assets depending on the balance of environmental conditions and management choices?
• In what ways and to what extent can sectors that depend on agricultural land use adapt to water scarcity?
• How do land use transitions play out for those whose lives and livelihoods are directly impacted, and what enables optimal outcomes for the most possible stakeholders?
• Where are the success stories that can serve as guideposts for regions undergoing similar transitions?

This collection explores the human and ecosystem level implications of land use transitions in production landscapes, including the tradeoffs associated with alternative land uses and land abandonment, impacts on food production, environment, and society, scenarios for feasibility, and considerations for planning and implementation of multi-benefit landscapes in the face of water scarcity.