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Climate Change Research toward Sustainable Agriculture

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Air, Climate Change and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 22970

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Liping Guo

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Guest Editor

Division of Climate Change, Institute of Environmental and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: climate change and C/N cycling

Prof. Dr. Jiandong Liu

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Guest Editor

Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: crop growth modelling and climate impact assessment

Prof. Dr. Lixin Dong

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Key Laboratory of Radiometric Calibration and Validation for Environmental Satellites, National Satellite Meteorological Center (National Center for Space Weather), China Meteorological Administration, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: agricultural meteorology; remote sensing
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Dr. Kun Cheng

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Guest Editor

College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
Interests: C/N/Water footprint
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the context of carbon neutralization, Climate change has attracted great attention and related studies have been developed rapidly in recent years. The associated study on the mechanisms and assessment on the impact, mitigation, and resilience of climate change is consistent with the aims and scopes of SUSTAINABILITY. Based on this, the journal “SUSTAINABILITY” is planning to organize a virtual special issue aims to “Climate Change Research Toward Sustainable Agriculture”. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

1) Interaction between climate change and agricultural production

2) Physiological processes for mitigation and adaptation in agriculture

3) Interaction between carbon/Nitrogen cycling and climate change

4) Impact of climate change related agricultural activities on environment quality including atmospheric, soil and water

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Liping Guo
Prof. Dr. Jiandong Liu
Prof. Dr. Lixin Dong
Dr. Kun Cheng
Guest Editors

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

climatic change impact
resilience
agrometeorological disaster
carbon sink
carbon footprint
nitrous oxide
nitrogen footprint
Ammonia volatilization
overuse of nitrogen
nitrogen leaching

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 1576 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characteristics of the Water Consumption Components of Winter Wheat Fields and Their Effects on the Loess Plateau under Climate Change: An Example at Xifeng Station, Gansu, China

by Jianying Jia, Junfang Zhao, Heling Wang, Feng Fang, Lanying Han and Funian Zhao

Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 8995; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118995 - 02 Jun 2023

Viewed by 684

Abstract

Understanding the components of water consumption plays a critical role in agricultural management in arid regions. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of the components of the water consumption of winter wheat on the Loess Plateau in China to investigate their effects on yield and water use efficiency (WUE). Winter wheat observation data were collected from 1981 to 2020 at the Xifeng Agrometeorological Station on the Loess Plateau. The results show that over the past 40 years, the average water consumption of the winter wheat fields was 315 mm, but there were large differences between years. The soil water was first converted from precipitation (P) during the growing season, accounting for 69.4%, and then consumed via soil water storage (ΔW) in the fallow period, accounting for 30.6%. The yield of winter wheat varied from 1057 to 6914 kg·ha⁻¹. The correlation between winter wheat yield and P during the growth period was stronger than the correlation between winter wheat yield and ΔW. The average WUE was 11.0 kg·ha⁻¹·mm⁻¹ from 1981 to 2020, with the highest value of 13.7 kg·ha⁻¹·mm⁻¹ occurring in the 2010s and the lowest value of 9.6 kg·ha⁻¹·mm⁻¹ occurring in the 2000s. The WUE was positively correlated with P (p < 0.01) during the growth period and negatively correlated with ΔW (p < 0.05). Therefore, P can increase yield and WUE more effectively than ΔW. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the efficient utilization of water resources on the Loess Plateau and the sustainable development of dry farming. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change Research toward Sustainable Agriculture)

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14 pages, 2602 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Interactions between Farmers’ Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change and Sustainable Development Goals in Tanzania, East Africa

by Bahati Ally Magesa, Geetha Mohan, Indrek Melts, Hirotaka Matsuda, Jian Pu and Kensuke Fukushi

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 4911; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15064911 - 09 Mar 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2285

Abstract

This study investigated the potential adaptation measures for farmers in the Mwanga and Same Districts of Tanzania and then assessed their positive and negative interactions towards potential contributions to the selected sustainable development goal (SDG) indicators of no poverty and zero hunger. A total of 200 household surveys were conducted, and 36 participants were interviewed as key informants. Moreover, four focus group discussions were conducted to identify potential adaptation strategies in the studied areas. The literature and expert judgement approaches were used to understand and assess the positive and negative interactions between adaptation strategies and the selected indicators of SDGs. A seven-point scale of SDG interactions was used to determine the interactions between identified adaptation strategies and selected SDG indicators. Qualitative data were subjected to content analysis, whereas quantitative data were analyzed through descriptive statistics. The finding revealed that some of the adaptation strategies (i.e., stream bank crop cultivation, valley bottom crop cultivation, and cultivating crops near water sources) considered potential at the household levels and had strong negative interactions on achieving SDG 2.4.1. Further, most farmers hardly employed strategies (i.e., use of extension officers, concrete irrigation channels, crop insurance schemes, and credit schemes) that had strong positive interactions on the selected SDG indicators. Moreover, most of the identified strategies (i.e., early maturity crops, planting drought-resistant crops, use of improved varieties, mixing improved and local varieties, mixing short and long duration varieties, and crop diversification) are enabling strategies (+1), which, despite their importance, may constrain (−1) the income of small-scale farmers, food security, and poverty reduction. The importance of other strategies (i.e., irrigation infrastructures) must be addressed for better yields and positive impacts. Hence, achieving SDGs 1 and 2 in the studied areas will require the integration of different adaptation strategies that complement each other, and not by promoting only some strategies as used or suggested before. For example, the emphasis on using improved varieties and crop diversification should be complemented by access to credit schemes, irrigation infrastructures, crop insurance, and extension services at the village level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change Research toward Sustainable Agriculture)

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13 pages, 1584 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Elevated CO₂ on the Photosynthesis, Chlorophyll Fluorescence and Yield of Two Wheat Cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.) under Persistent Drought Stress

by Qi Yang, Ping Li, Dongsheng Zhang, Wen Lin, Xingyu Hao and Yuzheng Zong

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1593; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021593 - 13 Jan 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1863

Abstract

The interactive effects of elevated [CO₂] and drought on leaf photosynthesis, physiology and yield in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) are not well understood. This study evaluated the effects of persistent drought stress (35–45% of field water capacity) and elevated CO₂ (ambient concentration + 200 μmol mol^–1) on leaf photosynthesis, chlorophyll fluorescence, stress physiological indices, biomass, and grain weight (in g m⁻²) in two wheat cultivars (large-spike cultivar Z175 and multiple-spike cultivar Triumph) at the open-top chamber (OTC) experimental facility in North China. We found that elevated [CO₂] enhanced the positive effects of drought on F_v/F_m and WUE but did not ameliorate the adverse effects of drought on P_N in the two cultivars. Moreover, as a large-spike cultivar, Z175 showed enhanced photosynthesis performance and sink capacity (spike number and kernel number per spike) compared with Triumph in the grain filling stage under elevated [CO₂], which helped counteract the adverse effects of drought. In contrast, although Triumph had more tillers and spikes at the current [CO₂] concentration, most of them were thin and had limited photosynthesis capacity. The photosynthesis capacity of leaves on the main shoot and the spike number did not significantly increase in Triumph under elevated [CO₂]. Hence, elevated [CO₂] mitigated drought-induced inhibition of grain weight in Z175 plants but not in Triumph plants under persistent drought stress. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change Research toward Sustainable Agriculture)

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20 pages, 8386 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Evolution of Seasonal Crop-Specific Climatic Indices under Climate Change in Greece Based on EURO-CORDEX RCM Simulations

by Theodoros Mavromatis, Aristeidis K. Georgoulias, Dimitris Akritidis, Dimitris Melas and Prodromos Zanis

Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 17048; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142417048 - 19 Dec 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2012

Abstract

This study presents an updated assessment of the projected climate change over Greece in the near future (2021–2050) and at the end of the 21st century (2071–2100) (EOC), relative to the reference period 1971–2000, and focusing on seasonal crop-specific climatic indices. The indices include days (d) with: a maximum daily near-surface temperature (TASMAX) > 30 °C in Spring, a TASMAX > 35 °C in Summer (hot days), a minimum daily near-surface temperature (TASMIN) < 0 °C (frost days) in Spring, a TASMIN > 20 °C (tropical nights) in Spring–Summer and the daily precipitation (PR) > 1 mm (wet days) in Spring and Summer covering the critical periods in which wheat, tomatoes, cotton, potato, grapes, rice and olive are more sensitive to water and/or temperature stress. The analysis is based on an ensemble of 11 EURO-CORDEX regional climate model simulations under the influence of a strong, a moderate, and a no mitigation Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively). The indices related to TASMAX are expected to increase by up to 11 days in Spring and 40 days in Summer, tropical nights to rise by up to 50 days, frost days to decrease by up to 20 days, and wet days to decline by up to 9 days in Spring and Summer, at the EOC with an RCP8.5. The increased heat stress and water deficit are expected to have negative crop impacts, in contrast to the positive effects anticipated by the decrease in frost days. This study constitutes a further step towards identifying the commodities and/or regions in Greece which, under climate change, are or will be significantly impacted. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change Research toward Sustainable Agriculture)

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21 pages, 6073 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Risk Assessment of Waterlogging in Major Winter Wheat-Producing Areas in China in the Last 20 Years

by Yiqian Huang, Feng Wang, Yao Su, Man Yu, Alin Shen, Xinhua He and Jingwen Gao

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14072; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114072 - 28 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1050

Abstract

Against the background of global warming, agricultural meteorological disasters such as waterlogging frequently occur, significantly restricting winter wheat yield and quality formation. Studying the changing trend of meteorological characteristics of waterlogging is beneficial to stabilizing winter wheat yield. We collected meteorological and yield data of China’s main winter wheat production areas in the last 20 years to explore the impact of waterlogging in different growth stages on wheat production. The results showed that waterlogging greatly impacted winter wheat production in the main winter wheat production areas in China, and the degree of influence was larger in the south than in the north. The precipitation in the south was higher, and waterlogging occurred in most growth stages, but waterlogging at the filling stage was more consistent with the yield reduction. On the other hand, the interannual variation in precipitation in the seedling stage in the north varied greatly, which was the critical stage of waterlogging. In conclusion, waterlogging was one of the main factors affecting winter wheat production in China. For southern cities, the filling period was the key period for disaster prevention and mitigation, but it was the seedling stage in the north. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change Research toward Sustainable Agriculture)

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20 pages, 6954 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Net Influence of Drought on Grassland Productivity over the Past 50 Years

by Tianjie Lei, Jianjun Wu, Jiabao Wang, Changliang Shao, Weiwei Wang, Dongpan Chen and Xiangyu Li

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12374; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912374 - 29 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1370

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on the grassland productivity response to drought under the background of climate change. There is an established lag impact on the response of grassland ecosystems to drought events, which may have additional effects on subsequent drought events. Meanwhile, due to climate change interference, the influence of drought on grassland productivity over the past 50 years is not simply equal to the algebraic sum of all the historical drought events. In the Inner Mongolia grassland, precipitation deficit plays a leading role in causing drought. Therefore, taking into consideration the impacts of drought lag effect and climate change, in this paper, we focus on the net influence of drought on grassland productivity over the past 50 years on the basis of long-term precipitation deficit, we identify the interference effect from different climate factors (precipitation and temperature) by using different scenario simulation tests, and therefore, further clarify the net influence on the grassland productivity of Inner Mongolia over the past 50 years. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change Research toward Sustainable Agriculture)

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14 pages, 2140 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Changes in Vegetation Period Length in Slovakia under the Conditions of Climate Change for 1931–2110

by Vladimír Kišš, Jakub Pagáč, Andrej Tárník and Ján Čimo

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12220; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912220 - 26 Sep 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1754

Abstract

The global mean near-surface temperature between 2012 and 2021 was 1.11 to 1.14 °C warmer than the pre-industrial level. This makes it the warmest period on record. The aim of this article was to investigate vegetation period changes (onset and termination of the temperature T ≥ 5 °C, T ≥ 10 °C, and T ≥ 15 °C) due to climate change from the average air temperature for the periods 1931–1961, 1961–1991, and 1991–2020 for 24 stations in Slovakia and forecast the length of vegetation periods for the periods 2021–2050, 2051–2080, and 2081–2110. The number of days with these characteristic temperatures was used as an input dataset, from which map outputs were generated in ArcGIS software. Spatial analysis of the vegetation periods in the past, present, and future showed an earlier start of the vegetation period in spring and a later ending in autumn during the last 30 years. The maximum duration of the vegetation period will expand from the south to the north of Slovakia. Future scenarios showed an extension of the vegetation period duration. On the other hand, this potential advantage for crop cultivation is limited by a lack of arable land in the north of Slovakia and by a lack of precipitation in the south of Slovakia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change Research toward Sustainable Agriculture)

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16 pages, 4580 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Future Maize Yield Changes and Adaptation Strategies in China

by Kuo Li, Liping Guo, Jie Pan and Mingyu Li

Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9246; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159246 - 28 Jul 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1528

Abstract

In the past century, climate change has become more significant, which has a great impact on crop growth, especially food security. Based on the regional climate model PRECIS, high-precision grid climate data in China under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios were output, and the high-precision amplification and calibration of crop model DSSAT were calibrated and verified in combination with data of maize planting from 2005 to 2015, including observation data of agrometeorological stations, ecological networking experiment data and maize survey data of agricultural demonstration counties. The impact of climate change on maize production in 2030s and 2050s was evaluated; and the effect of main adaptation strategies to climate change is put forward which could support macro strategies of layout adjustment for the maize production system. The results show that if no countermeasures are taken in the future, the risk of maize yield reduction in China will gradually increase, especially under the RCP8.5 scenario. The risk of maize yield reduction in each main production area will be very prominent in the 2050s under the RCP8.5 scenario, which would be between 10–30%. Compared with a delayed sowing date, an early sowing date would be more conducive to maize production, but there would be some differences in different regions. The heat in the growing season of maize would increase significantly. If the growth time of maize from silking to maturity could be prolonged and the accumulated temperature could be raised, the dry matter accumulation of maize would effectively increase, which would have an obvious effect on yield. Improving grain filling rate is also significant, although the effect of yield increase would be smaller. Therefore, sowing in advance, full irrigation and cultivating varieties with a long reproductive growth period could effectively alleviate the yield reduction caused by climate change. Adjusting maturity type and grain harvest strategy would have a more obvious mitigation effect on yield reduction in northeast China and northern China, and plays a positive role in ensuring future maize yield. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change Research toward Sustainable Agriculture)

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15 pages, 3153 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial and Temporal Variations in the Potential Yields of Highland Barley in Relation to Climate Change in Three Rivers Region of the Tibetan Plateau from 1961 to 2020

by Jiandong Liu, Jun Du, De-Li Liu, Hans W. Linderholm, Guangsheng Zhou, Yanling Song, Yanbo Shen and Qiang Yu

Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 7719; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14137719 - 24 Jun 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1246

Abstract

Spatial and temporal variations in the potential yields of highland barley is important for making policies on adaptation of agriculture to climate change in the Three Rivers Region (TRR), one of the main highland barley growing areas on the Tibetan Plateau. This research tries to explore a suitable strategy for simulating potential yields of highland barley by the WOFOST (WOrld FOod STudies) crop growth model, and further to identify variations in climate conditions and potential yields in TRR from 1961 to 2020 for making policies on adaptation of agricultural production to the climate change impacts on the Tibetan Plateau. Validation results indicated that WOFOST could accurately simulate the potential yields of highland barley with the global radiation estimated by the calibrated Angstrom model. The global radiation during the growth periods decreased at a rate of 0.047 MJ/m²a, while the temperature during the growth periods increased at rates ranging from 0.019 to 0.087 °C/a, which was greater than the average warming rate of the globe. The simulated potential yields ranged from 10,300 to 14,185 kg/ha in TRR, with an average decreasing rate of 28 kg/ha/a. The decrease in the potential yields was mainly attributed to the shortened critical period caused by warming effects, so cultivation of new varieties of highland barley with longer growth periods is suggested as an achievable strategy for the adaptation of highland barley to climate change in TRR. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change Research toward Sustainable Agriculture)

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Review

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15 pages, 308 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Review of Climate-Smart Agriculture: Recent Advancements, Challenges, and Future Directions

by Junfang Zhao, Dongsheng Liu and Ruixi Huang

Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3404; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043404 - 13 Feb 2023

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 8118

Abstract

Global climate change has posed serious threats to agricultural production. Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and ensuring food security are considered the greatest challenges in this century. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is a concept that can provide a solution to the challenges that agricultural development faces. It can do so in a sustainable way by increasing adaptability, decreasing GHG emissions, and ensuring national food security. So far, little research has systematically reviewed the progresses in CSA in developing and in developed countries. A review on the recent advancements, challenges, and future directions of CSA will be quite timely and valuable. In this paper, the definition and development goals of CSA are identified. Then, the recent advancements of CSA in developing and in developed countries are reviewed. The existing problems and challenges in CSA are analyzed and pointed out. Finally, the proposals on prospects and directions for CSA in the future are proposed. Using advanced internet technology to ensure agricultural information security, improvement of cropping patterns, and management techniques, carrying out “internet + weather” service and improving the quality of agricultural service, and conducting agricultural weather index-based insurance are considered as the main direction of future development of CSA. This review provides new ideas and strategies for strengthening ecological environmental protection, promoting agricultural green development, and mitigating climate change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change Research toward Sustainable Agriculture)

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