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This editorial summarizes the papers published in issue 17(1) (2022). This issue begins with a second editorial calling on researchers to publish replication results from previous studies. The first paper applies a spatiotemporal Bayesian hierarchical model for understanding the dynamics of second home ownership in Corsica. The second paper determines the optimal time to invest in a new airport using real options analysis. The third paper employs unit root tests to provide empirical evidence that environmental policy changes have not been effective up to now. The fourth paper provides empirical evidence that regional spillover effects should play a crucial role in the policy discussion about climate change. The fifth paper forecasts the direct impact of climate change on crop yields in the agricultural sector and the indirect impacts on other sectors of the Brazilian economy up to 2100. The sixth paper investigates whether the percentage of women in national parliaments positively affects public expenditures on social needs both internally and in neighbouring countries. The seventh paper sets out a general framework for store sales evaluation and prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper interrogates technological fix narratives on the genetically modified crop Bt cotton in India that claim to address poverty under climate change. Furthermore, I focus on the political economy of input markets as the mechanism for technology adoption and theoretically maximizing profitability for farmers. I compare these narratives to empirical reality by drawing on 94 interviews and 151 household surveys conducted in the south Indian state of Telangana, the second biggest Bt cotton producing state in India. I show how Bt cotton has been propagated as a technological climate fix crop through its technical traits of thriving in higher temperatures and adapting to particular pests in rainfed conditions relative to non-GM cotton varieties. Yet, I show how Bt cotton increases economic risks for farmers due to higher input costs, which are financed by debt relations with market intermediaries. These debt relations, which I term 'indebtedness treadmills', are intrinsically linked to droughts and rainfall climatic variability in Telangana, owing to the increasingly unreliable agroecological rainfed and semi-arid Bt cotton growing conditions. The paper therefore highlights unintended consequences of technological fix climate narratives that arise from siloing technologies from their contextual conditions of adoption to the detriment of real-world outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses contrasting discourses of ‘climate-smart agriculture’ (CSA) for their implications on control over and access to changing resources in agriculture. One of the principal areas of contestation around CSA relates to equity, including who wins and who loses, who is able to participate, and whose knowledge and perspectives count in the process. Yet to date, the equity implications of CSA remain an under-researched area. We apply an equity framework centred on procedure, distribution and recognition, to four different discourses. Depending on which discourses are mobilised, the analysis helps to illuminate: (1) how CSA may transfer the burden of responsibility for climate change mitigation to marginalised producers and resource managers (distributive equity); (2) how CSA discourses generally fail to confront entrenched power relations that may constrain or block the emergence of more ‘pro-poor’ forms of agricultural development, adaptation to climate change, or carbon sequestration and storage (procedural equity); (3) how CSA discourses can have tangible implications for the bargaining power of the poorest and most vulnerable groups (recognition). The paper contributes to work showing the need for deeper acknowledgement of the political nature of the transformations necessary to address the challenges caused by a changing climate for the agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Developing countries are especially vulnerable to climate change, as they often depend on agriculture and have less adaptation possibilities. The present paper assesses the economic implications of climate change in Paraguay, by incorporating projected crop productivity impacts due to climate change in a global multi-region and multi-sector general equilibrium model. The results suggest that despite projected decreases in crop productivity Paraguayan production and exports of wheat and soybeans may increase because of climatic changes, and lead to increased household income and welfare in Paraguay. This is because the projected decreases in crop productivity are generally larger in other regions than in Paraguay, giving the competitive advantage, allowing Paraguay to increase their share on global and regional soybean, wheat, and rice markets. Although these results seem promising for Paraguay, it highlighted the need for future improvements in estimating climate impact on crops at regional and global levels considering integrated agricultural and economic models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the constraints on the adaptive capacity of crop farmers in two districts in different agroecological zones – Atwima Mponua (Semi-Deciduous Forest Zone) and Ejura-Sekyeredumase (Transition Zone) of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. A comparative-case mixed-methods research design was adopted using household survey questionnaires, focus group discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews with key informants. The study involved 150 farming households from each district. The study found that farmers' adaptive capacity to either plan or implement adaptive strategies has not always been successful due to lack of resources among other things. Constraints mentioned by farmers include lack of infrastructure, and secured land rights while the local institutions mentioned inadequate financial resources and poor technological capacity. Robust policy formulation and implementation aimed at equipping farmers with resources and strengthening institutional capacities is necessary to enhance the adaptive capacity of crop farmers to climate variability and change impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is about the identification of the changing world climate drivers and speculation concerning the future impact such drivers will have on countries in the southern hemisphere, especially Australia and New Zealand. A focus for the above is a case study of climate change which has induced severe hardships in the Bendigo region of Victoria, Australia. The authors are of the opinion this experience, in this extremely climate sensitive agricultural area, is a forerunner to what could occur to many regions in the southern hemisphere. The case study shows the vulnerability of communities to instruments of governance established during periods of stability and urges the urgent need for modified governance instruments during periods of rapid climatic change. The paper commences the discussion about the meaning, relevance and reality of sustainability for communities during times of climatic uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In South Korea, rice is the most important grain crop that it is crucial to develop yield estimation model for supporting sustainable agriculture and national food security. The main objectives of this paper are (1) to propose a Deep Learning (DL) algorithm, the Stacked Sparse Auto-encoder (SSAE), for rice-yield estimation using climatic and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data; (2) to choose scenarios showing the best combined performance in terms of length of crop season (before and after harvest) and aggregation periods (7, 10, 15, and 30 days) of climatic data; and (3) to analyse the results in both the temporal and spatial perspectives. In this procedure, the SSAE model was built around the study objectives and compared with the artificial neural network (ANN) model for evaluation of its performance. According to the results, the combined 15-day-aggregated climatic data (between June and August) and MODIS data were selected as the optimal feature set for rice-yield estimation in the study area, Jeolla-do; the SSAE model outperformed ANN, showing root mean square error (RMSE) and RMSE% of 33.09 kg(10a)−1 (5.21 kg(10a)−1lower than ANN) and 6.89% (1.14% lower than ANN). Throughout the experiments, the rice-yield-estimation potentiality of a DL algorithm, namely the SSAE, was substantiated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses the Just–Pope approach to investigate the effects of seasonal weather variables and extremes on the mean yield and yield variability of rice, bajra, chickpea, groundnut and sugarcane in India during the period 1990–2015. Results reveal that changes in rainfall and evapotranspiration across seasons largely affect mean yields for most crops, including bajra, chickpea and groundnut. However, high summer rainfall and low monsoon evapotranspiration extremes reduce groundnut and chickpea yield variability. Considering the importance of water availability to crop yields, this study suggests improving irrigation and water reallocation and management to reduce the severity of seasonal climate effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies that provide representative insights for determining yield through its related traits during the ontogeny of modern cultivars subjected to sources of environmental variation are limited for different crops, including wheat. Most of the empirical evidence on the relationships between the yield of small grain cereal crops and its contributing traits has been obtained under dry or semidry conditions. The aims of this paper were to (1) illustrate how an path analysis can be used to clarify and interpret the relationships between grain yield (GY), yield components, and other yield-related traits of 25 winter wheat cultivars subjected to sources of environmental variation and (2) determine how the yield-related traits contribute to the yield variation. The data used in this analysis were generated from multi-environment trials across wheat-growing areas in Poland. Using Ward’s clustering procedure was capable of identifying the most critical predictor traits of the yield components and their contributions to cultivar-focused GY variation. Our findings document, confirm, and improve the basic biological understanding of how to grow modern wheat cultivars for high GY through effectively stimulating the improvement of yield-related traits through the optimization of developmental stage-based agronomic strategies. Our results confirmed empirically that modern European wheat cultivars grown in a temperate climate require favorable conditions, the use of appropriate N fertilizer and growth regulators, and the application of fungicide to protect against leaf diseases and to provide conditions that effectively increase the time to anthesis, the Leaf Area Index per spike at anthesis, and the grain filling duration, and reduce plant height and flag leaf disease severity, thus leading to a high GY. A high yield level is obtained by the performance of preferred yield-related traits that can maintain the three yield components at relatively high levels. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper tests the ‘systems of innovation’ hypothesis for a selection of crops in Ghana and Burkina Faso that have shown significant growth in production over an approximately 20-year period. The question is whether such growth can only occur if supported by a system of innovation. Using two indicators (a common understanding on objectives and priorities, and a high level of interactivity), we find little evidence for the existence of anything that might be considered a high functioning system of innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Kashmir valley is a major saffron (Crocus sativus Kashmirianus) growing area of the world, second only to iran in terms of production in Kashmir, saffron is grown on uplands (termed in the local language as "Karewas"), which are lacustrine deposits located at an altitude of 1585 to 1677 m above mean sea level (amsl), under temperate climatic conditions. Kashmir, despite being one of the oldest historical saffron-producing areas faces a rapid decline of saffron industry. Among many other factors responsible for decline of saffron industry the preponderance of erratic rainfalls and drought-like situation have become major challenges imposed by climate change. Saffron has a limited coverage area as it is grown as a 'niche crop' and is a recognized "geographical indication," growing under a narrow microclimatic condition. As such it has become a victim of climate change effects, which has the potential of jeopardizing the livelihood of thousands of farmers and traders associated with it. The paper discusses the potential and actual impact of climate change process on saffron cultivation in Kashmir; and the biotechnological measures to address these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on climate change and the wine industry has been characterized by several themes. Studies have addressed the impacts of climate change on wine quality, impacts of climate change and variability on grapevine yield and phenology, and vineyard site suitability analyses in the context of terroir. This paper reviews the state of knowledge on the implications of climate change for viticulture and viniculture and suggests the vulnerability approach as a direction for future research. This approach will increase understanding of the adaptive capacity of the wine sector, with the ultimate goal of reducing the vulnerability of the industry to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we quantified vegetation variations in the Qaidam Basin from 1982 to 2003 by using growing-season NDVI sequences, which were defined as the summation of monthly NDVI values from May to September, and were calculated pixel-by-pixel from a successive 8-km NDVI dataset. We adopt linear regressions to examine the trends in growing-season NDVI and the trends in climate (temperature, precipitation and sunshine duration) during this period in an attempt to depict their temporal and spatial variability. Our results indicate that climate in the Qaidam Basin has homogeneously warmed at a rate of about 0.6°C/decade during the study period, with significant trends in monthly mean temperatures in April-September. However, there were no statistically significant trends observed in precipitation and sunshine duration. We found positive growing-season NDVI trends in 31.6% of the vegetated lands in 1982-2003 and in 24.1% over the first half period, 1982-1992. In addition, few areas were shown to have negative trends during these periods. In 1993-2003, however, the percentage of land with a positive trend decreased to 13.1%, and the percentage of vegetated land with a negative trend increased to 10.2%. Growing-season NDVI trends show both temporal and spatial variability. Areas with negative trends are distributed mostly at lower elevations and near oasis boundaries, and areas with positive trends at higher elevations. Using correlation analyses we estimated the relationship between growing-season NDVI and the climatic factors with the consideration of duration and lagging effects. The results suggest that growing-season NDVI trends are more correlated to temperature increases in growing-season months when compared to variations in precipitation and sunshine duration; however increased precipitation amounts within May-August can also facilitate vegetation growth in some of this arid basin. However, we found no significant correlations between growing-season NDVI and temperature in the non-trend areas, which account for the majority of the vegetated land. We suggest that the variability in vegetation responses to the observed warming climates results from the differences in background thermal condition and moisture availability, which depend on elevation and other factors, such as hydrological conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate and land-atmosphere models rely on accurate land-surface parameters, such as Leaf Area Index (LAI). It is crucial that the estimation of LAI represents actual ground truth. Yet it is known that the LAI values retrieved from remote sensing images suffer from scaling effects. The values retrieved from coarse resolution images are generally smaller. Scale transformations aim to derive accurate leaf area index values at a specific scale from values at other scales. In this paper, we study the scaling effect and the scale transformation algorithm of LAI in regions with different vegetation distribution characteristics, and analyse the factors that can affect the scale transformation algorithm, so that the LAI values derived from a low resolution dataset match the average LAI values of higher resolution images. Using our hybrid reflectance model and the scale transformation algorithm for continuous vegetation, we have successfully calculated the LAI values at different scales, from reflectance images of 2.5 m and 10 m spatial resolution SPOT-5 data as well as 250 m and 500 m spatial resolution MODIS data. The scaling algorithm was validated in two geographic regions and the results agreed well with the actual values. This scale transformation algorithm will allow researchers to extend the size of their study regions and eliminate the impact of remote sensing image resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maintenance of proper soil fertility, through application of a balanced mix of various nutrients, is important for maintaining sustainable crop production levels. Soil testing is a crucial step in this direction. This paper describes soil testing as a multi-dimensional concept comprising seven aspects. Awareness of these factors among farmers is computed, examined, and statistically analyzed using survey data collected from three categories of farmers--small, medium and large--in four districts of the Uttar Pradesh state in India. The impact of a World Bank-aided project--Diversified Agriculture Support Project-is also assessed in terms of dissemination of soil testing knowledge. Results indicate that project interventions had a significant and variable soil impact on farmers awareness of and likelihood of adopting soil testing in four districts. The findings have implications for policy-makers and researchers who are interested in improving the production and productivity of crops in developing economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professor K. Ya. Kondratyev made a significant contribution to soils and vegetation research using data from airspace observations. This paper is a brief review of the part of Kondratyev's versatile activity dealing with radiation transfer theory for the atmospheric correction of multispectral satellite images. New opportunity is outlined of remote sensing data applications developing the elaborated techniques of multispectral imagery processing. The applications are presented by classification procedures of natural objects in the processed images and by retrieval procedures of quantitative parameters of forest and other types of vegetation such as the amount of green phytomass together with discrimination of forest species (coniferous, deciduous, mixed) for each individual pixel. Some results are shown of the relevant applications for multispectral satellite images of medium and high spatial resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecological environment in the Tarim River Basin is extremely fragile. The ecological problems resulting from local economic development in this region have been a hot topic for the ecological scientists. There is a new trend to use information technologies to monitor the ecological environment dynamically by means of the modem information technologies. To meet the constant requirements of long-term monitoring of a region ecological environment, this paper focuses on the vegetation coverage and land desertification on the basis of the information technologies of remote sensing (RS), geographic positioning systems (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS), and data warehouse, applying the theory of the integrative spatial and attribute data, seamless integration of multi-source data. The ecological environment for the lower reaches of the Tarim River is analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. The investigated database is established and managed through multisource and multi-type massive data, which are collected from three periods of the remote sensing images and background data in 1999, 2002 and 2004, respectively. The methods of system classification, remote sensing interpretation, vegetation coverage, conversion models construction, and massive data built database are applied to analyse the data concerned during the dynamically monitoring the ecological environment in the Tarim River Basin. The results show that the vegetation coverage has increased gradually each year after the emergent water transportation project was started, whereas the desertification area has decreased, some sand areas have obviously retreated. The speed of improvement in the east part of the river has been higher than in the west. The ecological environment in the lower reaches of the Tarim River has tended to improve after the emergent water transportation project in the lower reaches of the Tarim River Basin. In conclusion, the emergent water delivery plays a decisive and significant role in promoting the ecological environment in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there have been significant developments in climate science relevant to agriculture and natural resource management. Assessing impacts of climate variability and use of seasonal climate forecasts have become increasingly important elements in the management ‘toolkit’ for many Australian farmers. Consideration of climate change further increases the need for improved management strategies. While climate risk extension activities have kept pace with advances in climate science, a national review of the Vocational Education and Training system in Australia in relation to ‘weather and climate’ showed that these topics were ‘poorly represented’ at the management level in the Australian Qualifications Framework, and needed increased emphasis. Consequently, a new Unit of Competency concerning management of climatic risk was developed and accredited to address this deficiency. The objective of the unit was to build knowledge and skills for better management of climate variability via the elements of surveying climatic and enterprise data; analysing climatic risks and opportunities; and developing climatic risk management strategies. This paper describes establishment of a new unit for vocational education that is designed to harness recent developments in applied climate science for better management of Australia's highly variable climate. The main benefits of the new unit of competency, ‘Developing climatic risk management strategies,’ were seen as improving decisions in climate and agriculture, and reducing climate risk exposure to enhance sustainable agriculture. The educational unit is now within the scope of agricultural colleges, universities, and registered training organisations as an accredited unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their near-infrared data channel, digital airborne four-channel imagers provide a potentially good discrimination between vegetation and human-made materials, which is very useful in automated mapping. Due to their red, green and blue data channels, they also provide natural colour images, which are very useful in traditional (manual) mapping. In this paper, an algorithm is described which provides an approximation to the spectral capabilities of the four-channel imagers by using a colour-infrared aerial photo as input. The algorithm is tailored to urban/suburban surroundings, where the quality of the generated (pseudo) natural colour images are fully acceptable for manual mapping. This brings the combined availability of near-infrared and (pseudo) natural colours within reach for mapping projects based on traditional photogrammetry, which is valuable since traditional analytical cameras still by far outnumber the relatively new family of digital airborne four-channel imagers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has major impacts to the livelihoods of the rural communities. In order to counteract the situation communities have developed various means for coping and adapting to the impacts. This paper reviews the various adaptation strategies by which different local communities (fishermen, pastoralists and farmers) in Tanzania have developed and discusses the sustainability of some of the strategies. It has been documented that farmers in Tanzania use traditional practices such as terracing (matuta), ngolo, tree planting, and construction of locally based water reservoirs (nkunisa), mixed cropping and crop diversification. Pastoralists use strategies such as ngitiri, rain water harvesting in ditches (malambo), check dams and engagement in alternative economic activities; and fishermen use methods such as change in fishing time, deep water fishing, scheduling particular time for fishing and engagement in other alternative economic activities. Based on the ability of the strategy to improve the capacity of the communities to respond to climate change effects, ease of implementation, the affordability, the strategies have been categorized as sustainable or not. It has been noted that the use of the sustainable indigenous strategies can improve the management of climate change effects provided that the underlying limitations are overcome. The limitations to the effectiveness of some of the documented coping and adaptation strategies may arise for instance from failure to fit the local context. It is therefore concluded that the analysis of a number of scenarios need to be undertaken prior to replication of any strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using biophysical and social analysis methods, this paper evaluated agricultural practices under changing climate in the Koshi Basin and assessed adaptation options. Agricultural trend analysis showed that in the recent three to four decades, the total cultivated area had declined in all parts of the basin except in the Nepal Mountain Region. Household survey results also confirmed such decline and further revealed shifts towards non-agricultural activities. Climate trend analysis showed changes in the frequency of wet and dry days in study districts, implying an increasing chance of flood and drought events. Household surveys further revealed that, in general, people perceived a decline in agricultural water availability and an increase in drought and flood events. The direct impacts of these changes were reduced crop yield, increased fallow lands, displacement of people from settlement areas, sedimentation of cultivable land and damage to properties. Household surveys showed that despite the perceived impacts on agriculture and livelihoods, only limited adaptation options are currently practised. Adaptation efforts are constrained by several factors, including: finance; technical knowledge; lack of awareness about adaptation options; lack of collective action; unclear property rights; and ineffective role of state agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The study examined the dynamic impact of climate such as Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, temperature, and rainfall on agricultural yield in India from 1980 to 2017 by applying the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model. The empirical evidence supports a long- and short-run asymmetry effect, implying that the positive impact of the climatic variables on agricultural yield is distinct from the adverse effects on both the long- and short-run equilibrium. In addition, CO2 emissions and average atmospheric temperature have diverse impacts on agriculture yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate-related risks to African agriculture are highly contextual. Climatic conditions are changing in diverse agro-ecological environments throughout Africa, and populations are being affected by, and responding to, these changes. The paper describes how climate change risks in African agriculture are mediated by multiple factors, ranging from the availability of physical resources through policy contexts to the role of culture. Consequently, support to adaptation needs to be complemented with research that can generate contextual information to inform adaptation policies, strategies, and measures. Interventions need to go beyond just technical fixes such as the development of new crop varieties, and must be based on an understanding of how different factors interact in a complex manner to drive risks and results in specific contexts to diverse outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study is the first effort to assess the long-term effects of change in climate on crop production in South Asian countries from 1991 to 2016 by employing the second-generation methods robust to cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity. Using panel data with the panel dynamic least squares (PD-LS) method and several co-integration approaches, this study confirmed a long-term co-integration among considered variables. The long-run estimates revealed that climatic variables, including temperature and CO2 emissions, negatively affected crop production, suggesting that a 1% increase in temperature and CO2 emissions reduces crop production by 1.93% and 0.32%, respectively. Conversely, precipitation positively affects crop production in the long-run, indicating that a 1% surge in precipitation increases crop production by 0.52%. Moreover, non-climatic variables including cultivated area, income level, and financial development positively affected crop production in the long-run. Furthermore, a 1% surge in cultivated area, income level, and financial development enhances crop production by 0.29%, 0.13%, and 0.04%, respectively. The outcomes of the Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test confirmed that the causal link among all variables is significant, and outcomes verify the previous findings. This study suggests that urgent attention should be given to various adaptation strategies, such as credit supply, cropped area expansion, irrigation infrastructure enhancement, and the introduction of improved kinds of major food crops to enhance agricultural productivity. Besides, agricultural extension authorities should provide information about climate change to farming communities to deal with the adverse impacts of sudden climate changes on productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing incidences of the negative impacts of climate change to smallholder farming, an understanding of the effects of farmers' adaptation options to climate change on crop yield is critical in designing practical measures and policies for increasing food production and food security. This study assessed the effects of smallholder farmers climate change adaptation intensity on crop yield with focus on maize, groundnuts and beans in Apac and Amuru districts, northern Uganda. Cross-sectional survey design was employed for data collection. Data were analysed using both descriptive and econometric approaches. Results showed that the most common climate change adaptation strategies used by smallholders related to varietal adjustments including planting different crop varieties each time, drought-resistant varieties, early maturing varieties, improved seeds and changing the time of planting. Yield comparisons between adapters and non-adapters for the three major crops showed that adapters realized significantly higher yields than non-adapters for most of the climate change adaptation strategies. This study suggests that farmers who used more adaptation strategies realized higher yields than the non-adapters. Our findings call for increased efforts by stakeholders to strengthen agricultural extension services and coverage to enhance smallholder farmers capacity to adapt to the effects of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite Bangladesh's remarkable progress in agricultural production over the past few decades, household food and nutrition insecurity persist, especially in rural areas. The nutrition security and dietary diversity are even more critical for women of reproductive age among smallholders. This study examined household food insecurity and dietary diversity of women of reproductive age in the rural areas of northwest Bangladesh. Using cross-sectional data collected from 252 smallholder households, we measured household food insecurity and dietary diversity of women of reproductive age by the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale and the Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women, respectively. Determinants of household food insecurity were examined, and associations between household food insecurity and low dietary diversity were determined. The majority of the households were mildly insecure (51.2%) followed by moderately insecure (27.4%). The households felt anxiety of food insecurity for more than six months a year (Food Security Index = 2.10 out of 4.00). The mean food group consumed by women was 4.63 indicating low dietary diversity and dominance of diets by grains and dark green leafy vegetables. The findings also indicate a significant and positive association between household food insecurity and low dietary diversity of women. Education of household heads, household size, access to information sources, access to credit support, and perceived impacts of climate change on crop production were identified as determinants of household food insecurity. The study recommends that appropriate interventions be formulated to improve the food and nutrition security in the study areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the international significance attached to climate change adaptation, there remains a lack of understanding of the barriers that impede the effective implementation of adaptation strategies by households across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Better understanding of the vulnerability of agriculture-dependent households to climate variability requires exploration of the barriers that constrain the implementation of adaptation strategies. This paper uses case studies from northeast Ghana and a systematic literature review to assess the barriers that restrict effective implementation of climate adaptations in SSA. Results suggest that households are constrained by financial barriers, socio-cultural barriers, institutional barriers, technological barriers and a lack of information on climate change characteristics. We examine how the various barriers interact at different levels to influence the adaptation process. Findings highlight that the development of early warning systems, effective communication of climate information and an understanding of the local context within which adaptations take place, are necessary pre-requisites to enhance climate adaptations and rural livelihoods. Households need to be supported through the provision of micro-credit schemes, community empowerment and extension initiatives aimed at enhancing social networks within farming communities in order to reduce their vulnerability to the adverse impacts of climate change and variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on farming in prehistoric period when climatic conditons were uncertain in Asia and Europe. It informs that farming is, on the one hand, an activity directly affected by climate, especially variability in seasonal and annual weather patterns, and, on the other, deeply constitutive of society, most obviously through the preparation and consumption of the food produced.

Rice is a major food crop that should respond favorably to expected future increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration. Due to uncertainties in the timing and amounts of monsoonal rainfall, drought is common in some rainfed rice production systems. In this paper, we summarize results of experiments conducted by the University of Florida and USDA-ARS at Gainesville, FL, USA where the effects and interactions of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and periodic drought were examined in relation to grain yield and canopy- scale gas exchanges, specifically photosynthesis, respiration, and evapotranspiration . . . Elevated CO2 increased rice growth, grain yield and canopy photosynthesis while reducing evapotranspiration by about 10%. During drought stress cycles, this water savings under elevated CO2 allowed photosynthesis to continue for one to two days longer compared with the ambient CO2 treatment. Rice canopy photosynthesis saturated with respect to CO2 near 500 µmol mol_1 and we found little evidence of photosynthetic acclimation or down-regulation in response to long-term CO2 enrichment treatments of 350 and 700 µmol mol_1. Under a much broader range of long-term CO2 treatments (160 to 900 µmol mol_1), a significant degree of photosynthetic down regulation was detected. Daytime CO2 enrichment resulted in higher canopy dark respiration compared with the ambient grown controls when compared at a common, near ambient nighttime CO2.We also detected a rapid and reversible, direct inhibition of canopy dark respiration rate with rising chamber CO2 at an air temperature of 28°C. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Climate shows distinct variability on al spatial scales and the method of identifying areas with analogous climate is widely used. The technique is usually developed with some specific application in mind, human comfort, building types or, as in this case, agriculture. The paper addresses the topic as it applies in China, presenting first the method of basic climatic devisions and then explaining the threshold values used in agroclimatic classifications. Temperature is a major variable used in the classification, as is precipitation, but at the county level many other aspects are introduced. China also devised classifications for many specific crops, and rice is selected for special consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article unfolds how an extreme acceleration in the price of a seed in 2012 changed farming in a rural area of India by reorienting the imagined sources of wealth in farming. The seed in question is guar which have been grown for centuries for cow fodder, but which is also used in fracking, and because of a growing international demand combined with a limited supply and wild speculation, the prices in 2012 grew exponentially with 1500% in a period of 3 months, after which it crashed at a similar rate. The article argues that this acceleration of prices caused an escalation that changed the perspective of change for farmers. it shifted the main focus from farming as a repetitive event tied to the seasonal weather changes, to one of future potentiality tied to sudden market movements. This shift in the scale of measuring change in farming moved farmers from producing seeds to also speculating in seeds, through methods of trading and stocking. The guar price acceleration opened up to imaginaries of new avenues of future income from farming that was not flowing in with the rain, but with the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the research "The Inappropriate Use of Crop Transpiration Coefficients (Kc) to Estimate Evapotranspiration in Arid Ecosystems: A Review." The premise behind the claim of inappropriate use of crop transpiration coefficient is based on a combination of misinterpretation of published results and unfamiliarity with key aspects of hydrologic-vegetation coupling at the scales of interest for water resource management. The coefficients were developed with the full realization they were areal estimates that provide a rationale framework for generalizing results. The authors asserted that it would be difficult to envision successful modeling of phreatophytic systems without recognizing relationships between plant vigor, potential evaporation, soil water, and groundwater.

In this study, an empirical assessment approach for the risk of crop loss due to water stress was developed and used to evaluate the risk of winter wheat loss in China, the United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. We combined statistical and remote sensing data on crop yields with climate data and cropland distribution to model the effect of water stress from 1982 to 2011. The average value of winter wheat loss due to water stress for the three European countries was about −931 kg/ha, which was higher than that in China (−570 kg/ha) and the United States (−367 kg/ha). Our study has important implications for the operational assessment of crop loss risk at a country or regional scale. Future studies should focus on using higher spatial resolution remote sensing data, combining actual evapotranspiration to estimate water stress, improving the method for downscaling of statistical crop yield data and establishing more sophisticated zoning methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To remain viable, agricultural producers will need to adapt to changing climatic conditions in coming decades. Agricultural advisers play an important role in helping producers decide to adopt appropriate adaptation practices. Photovisualizations have the potential to complement currently utilized outreach and education strategies. This research uses a focus group approach to explore (1) whether photovisualizations can aid in decision-making about climate change adaptation, and (2) what characteristics of photovisualizations are most effective at conveying spatial aspects of adaptation practices. We found that photovisualizations generate rich discussions about ecological and economic effects as well as tradeoffs associated with climate adaptation practices. To have the greatest impact, photovisualizations should be used when producers are considering implementing high-cost or high-risk projects, when practices are likely to dramatically change the visual landscape, or when a practice is unfamiliar to a producer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has caused a great impact on vegetation growth, production and distribution through variations of precipitation, temperature and sunshine. In this study, a categorization of zones for vegetation responses to climatic variability was conducted. Seasonal and annual crop responses to climate change in each region were analysed with multiple linear regression. The results show that the annual impact of climatic factors on crop growth was most significant in lower North China (R2 = 0.48) and most insignificant in Northeast China (R2 = 0.22). Temperature is the limiting climatic factor for crop growth annually in North China and Northeast China (zones 1-3), (p ≤ 0.05), while sunshine duration plays an important role for crop growth in zones which are more southern (zones 3 ~ 5). Precipitation significantly affects the annual crop growth in Inner Mongolia-Hebei-Shandong zone (zone 2) and Southeast zone (zone 5). Therefore, more attention should be paid to these zones. The spring temperature is the limiting climatic factor for crop growth in all the zones (p ≤ 0.05). Spring warming is helpful for crop growth in mainland China. Different agricultural and administrative measures should be taken in each zone to adapt to future climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marginal agricultural lands are defined here by suboptimal biophysical conditions and historically variable or low agricultural production. We characterize these areas using remotely sensed information to disentangle the biophysical and possible social factors driving marginality. Considering both the modifiable areal unit problem and the ecological fallacy problem, the heuristic we propose is generalizable across geographies and scales and provides information at multiple decision-making levels through a multiscalar interannual variability model. We present results from our study of Malawi, where the landscape is densely cultivated and smallholder farmers frequently occupy marginal lands, to illustrate the potential of a multiscalar analysis in a place where food insecurity alleviation is needed and where remote sensing can provide necessary information. Our framework for identifying marginal agricultural lands consists of (1) locating long-term agricultural land, (2) measuring interannual productivity of long-term farmed locations, and (3) assessing marginal biophysical land characteristics and the fundamental climate niche for the dominant crop (in this case maize). Productivity and marginality in Malawi are spatially organized, and an assessment of productivity at multiple scales highlights the importance of presenting both global and local spatiotemporal variability for managing agroecological variance. By disaggregating broad classes of historically marginal production and the underlying drivers of marginality, different intervention efforts can intelligently target areas most likely to receive maximum benefit. These methodologies can be applied by both policymakers and scholars to identify and target marginal agricultural areas for improved productivity and for the support of smallholder farmer livelihoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue that the multiple contemporary converging crises have significantly altered the context for and object of political contestations around agrarian, climate, environmental and food justice issues. These shifts affect alliances, collaboration and conflict among and between state and social forces, as well as within and between movements and societies. The actual implications and mechanisms by which these changes are happening are empirical questions that need careful investigation. The bulk of our discussion is dedicated to the issue of responses to the crises both by capitalist forces and those adversely affected by the crises, and the implications of these for academic research and political activist work. More specifically, we explore four thematic clusters, namely (1) class and intersectionality; (2) sectoral and multisectoral issues and concerns; (3) importance of immediate, tactical and concrete issues of working people; and (4) links between national and global institutional spaces and political processes. We know only a little about the questions we framed here, but it is just enough to give us the confidence to argue that these questions are areas of inquiry that deserve closer attention in terms of both academic research and political debates and actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peasants and rural communities are on the front lines of most climate catastrophes taking place nowadays worldwide; at the same time, we have been the ones taking care of our common planet over generations. This article begins with a brief overview of the current situation of land use in the world today and links it to climate issues. It then describes some of the solutions to climate threats being negotiated between national governments and the private sector. It then highlights solutions that communities are already implementing and concludes with the reasons why systemic change is needed in order to achieve agrarian and climate justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving rice yields is critical for global food security. China is a major rice-producing country having two rice cropping systems, i.e. single-season rice cropping system and a double-season system with both early- and late-season rice. There have been reports on the sink-source traits contributing to high grain yield for single- and early-season rice, but such information is limited for late-season rice. In this study, field experiments were conducted at the research farm of Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi Province, China in the late rice-growing season. Grain yield and sink-source traits were compared among five cultivars (Guiliangyou 2, Teyou 838, Y-liangyou 087, Teyou 582, and Yuxiangyouzhan) in 2012 and then three cultivars (Guiliangyou 2, Teyou 838, and Y-liangyou 087) in 2013. Y-liangyou 087 produced 6-26% higher grain yield than did the other cultivars. This higher grain yield was driven by improvements in sink-source capacity. Sink capacity was 8-31% higher in Y-liangyou 087 than in the other cultivars. Well-balanced relations between spikelets m−2 and grain weight was responsible for the higher sink capacity in Y-liangyou 087. The result was that Y-liangyou 087 produced 11-17% greater biomass (source capacity) than did the other cultivars. The greater source capacity in Y-liangyou 087 was mainly attributed to higher radiation use efficiency (RUE). Our study suggests that enhancing sink capacity through balanced relations between number of spikelets per unit land area and grain size, while improving source capacity through increasing RUE is a feasible way to achieve higher grain yield of late-season rice in South China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop and weather forecasting are some of the least predictable elements of agri-business, and public and private sector interests have developed different approaches to improving results in each area. This article examines how organisations produced, acquired, and shared the environmental knowledge they needed for success in the increasingly global supply chains of agri-business. Crop knowledge was extensive and growing in the late nineteenth century, including a series of nascent forecasting methods. Climate knowledge was limited and retreating because of underfunding and spurious theories about solar radiation. But the records of Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) and crop scientists in the Northern Great Plains show that linseed oil manufacturers created extensive knowledge networks to gather crop and some climate information in almost real time. Business associations served an asymmetrical role in these knowledge networks, and some manufacturers, like the members of the Flax Development Committee, treated scientists as a crop reporting service. As Argentina became a major linseed producer the US oilseed sector used public and private intermediaries to develop specialized knowledge of grassland agriculture in both the Prairies and the Pampas. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Eddy correlation measurements within the Nile Delta allowed the determination of evapotranspiration (E) for seven crops (rice, maize, cotton, sugar beet, berseem, wheat and fava beans) using basin irrigation (BI), furrow irrigation (FI), BI with increased intervals (BIi), FI with increased intervals (FIi), strip irrigation (SI) and drip irrigation (DI). TotalEvalues over the cropping season for rice (BI, BIi) were the highest (>600 mm), while those for sugar beet (DI), maize (SI and DI) and berseem (BIi) were the lowest (<250 mm). The differences were due to a combination of atmospheric demand, soil moisture, the presence of surface standing water, root depth, and the length and timing of the cropping season. The DI and SI methods had the advantage for water saving, while the FIiand BIimethods were effective for crops with shallow root lengths. Estimated annualEwas 566–828 mm/year (water-saving irrigation) and 875–1225 mm/year (conventional irrigation). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice paddies production in Malaysia, as in other parts of the world, is extremely vulnerable to weather changes and extreme conditions such as drought and flooding. Such situations forced Malaysia to maintain a protectionist regime with respect to its rice industry to better ensure food security for the country. In this study, a crop simulation model (DSSAT) and system dynamics approach were used to assess the impact of climate change on future rice production, self-sufficiency level of rice, and farmers’ gross income in Malaysia. Results from the DSSAT model show that during the main and off growing seasons, increase in temperature and changes rainfall pattern can be expected to reduce the rice yield by 12 and 31.3%, respectively, until the year 2030. Based on the system dynamics’ results, the reduction in rice yield was expected to reduce farmers’ gross income and the rice self-sufficiency level of the country. The study suggested two different policy scenarios to overcome these adverse effects. The overall policy implication is that the Malaysian rice industry cannot be sustained if government takes no action to change its current policies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Climate change is recognised as one of the leading challenges affecting the performance of agriculture and the livelihood of people. Farmers are the hardest hit as they have to continuously respond to climatic variations. In order to understand farmers' perceptions of climate change and its impacts, and to identify adaptation needs, focus group discussions and semi-structured questionnaire surveys were carried out at the end of the south-west monsoon season in 2012 (Kharif cropping season in India). This helped to gather their immediate responses soon after the poor performance of south-west monsoon 2012. Khariff cultivation is locally known as ‘Kuruvai’ and is always under the influence of the south-west monsoon rainfall. Farmers' have perceived climate variability, and identified increasing temperature, delayed onset, intermittent dry spells and decreasing soil moisture as the critical factors affecting their cultivation. Some of them have started to adapt to these changes by cultivating only short-duration crops such as pulses, vegetables and flowers especially jasmine, but there is also a trend to put more land under fallow and abandoning the major cereal production. This study reveals that the farmers' perceptions are in accordance with the real trends analysis done on meteorological variables using Mann–Kendall test and Sens's slope estimator test, but not exactly matches with rainfall. Farmers have indicated their specific adaptation needs, a number of which could be incorporated into site-specific adaption strategies and policies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introducing autumn-sown legumes into Central European farming systems could be beneficial for addressing two challenges for European agriculture, i.e., the substantial deficit of protein sources for livestock and expected changes in agroclimatic conditions. Therefore, a two-year field experiment was conucted under Pannonian climate conditions in eastern Austria to assess nitrogen (N) yield and N fixation of several winter faba bean varieties from different European countries as compared to a spring faba bean. Winter wheat was used as a reference crop for estimating atmospheric N fixation. Winter faba beans were susceptible to frost damage especially in the harder of the two winters. Winter faba bean varieties could not achieve a higher grain yield and a higher grain N yield than the spring faba bean but had a higher grain N concentration (except for one variety). Grain yield and grain N yield of faba beans were severely impaired by drought in one year (with a mean of varieties of 8.3 g N m−2, winter wheat: 6.4 g N m−2); in the other year, grain N yield of faba beans considerably surpassed that of winter wheat (with a mean of varieties of 21.5 g N m−2, winter wheat: 8.8 g N m−2). After harvest, faba beans left higher nitrate residues in the soil, especially in the subsoil, and higher amounts of N in above-ground residues compared to winter wheat. Faba beans showed high N fixation under optimum conditions (with a mean of varieties of 21.9 g N m−2) whereas drought considerably impaired N fixation (with a mean of varieties of 6.3 g N m−2; with no differences between autumn- and spring-sown faba beans). In conclusion, growing winter faba bean varieties in eastern Austria did not result in higher grain yield, grain N yield, and N fixation compared to growing a spring faba bean. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The tropical forest cover has varied greatly over the last few decades. The rapid advance of agricultural crops and illegal clearings in natural areas has resulted in the conversion of the majority of the world’s forest into desolated patches. Although rates of deforestation have decreased compared to previous years, forest loss still remains a crucial concern. Latest studies conducted on a global scale identified the Latin American continent as one of the regions exhibiting the highest rates of deforestation in the world. The dynamics of forests over the past 40 years has attracted numerous remote-sensing-based studies to monitor forest loss, analyse patterns, and understand the drivers of land conversion. This review article provides a comprehensive overview of the remote-sensing-based studies of tropical forest dynamics in Latin America. Following an introduction with respect to global forest mapping products, a general outline of tropical forest ecoregions and drivers of deforestation in Latin America is provided. Subsequently, a review and categorization of the existing studies is presented, where focus is laid on selected sensors and data analysis methodologies apply. Furthermore, a case study for the whole of Paraguay is presented; Paraguay is a region which contains highly diverse ecosystems that have been ravaged as a result of deforestation over the past 40 years. The main results, challenges, and future needs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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In order to establish the current scenario of aflatoxigenic fungal infection and aflatoxin contamination in sorghum seeds across India, 58 seed samples were collected from different agro-climatic regions. Among these, 67.2% samples were infected withAspergillusspp. and 28% were found contaminated with aflatoxins ranging from 0.0 to 130??g?kg?1. Greenhouse studies revealed no correlation between incidence ofAspergillus flavusand aflatoxin content, and its effect on seed quality parameters. Among the 37A. flavusstrains isolated, six were non-aflatoxigenic when analysed through cultural, TLC and ic-ELISA. Seed treatment with biocontrol agents (antagonistic Rhizobacteria andTrichoderma) suppressed the growth ofA. flavusunder laboratory and significantly enhanced seed quality variables under greenhouse conditions to a various extent. Field trials with selected biocontrol agents showed that talcum powder formulations ofPseudomonas putidaHas-1/c,Bacillusspp. 3/a,Trichoderma asperellumM5 andT. asperellumT2 improved seedling emergence, % nutrient accumulation in plants, increased plant biomass and 1000 seed weight. Seeds harvested from treated plants showed significant increase in seed quality variables under laboratory and greenhouse conditions in comparison with control, but there was no significant difference inA. flavusinfection and aflatoxin was completely absent in all treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change knowledge and risk perceptions were examined in farming communities in Southern Ethiopia. Based on multistage probability sampling, data were collected from 2,188 respondents. Most respondents (80%) were concerned about risk of climate change. Variables that predicted knowledge and risk perception for both men and women were frequency of listening to the radio, household size, agroclimatic zone, and educational status. Additionally, age, household wealth, and social institution membership were predictive for women, and frequency of newspaper reading was predictive for men. The high levels of risk perception suggest receptiveness to context-appropriate strategies to reduce potential long-term vulnerability.Environmental Practice 16: 29–36 (2014) [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Peach production will eventually suffer from the temperature changes initiated by global warming. This study investigates the response of peach cultivars to exceptional warm winter conditions. Fifteen peach cultivars from three production areas in the north and the centre of Tunisia were surveyed during 2006 and 2007. Flowering date and period, vegetative growth, yield and fruit quality were monitored. During a warmer year, chill accumulation represents less than 50% of the average chilling accumulation for the three production areas and less than 35% of the previous year’s accumulation. The lack of chilling had variable consequences on peach species, depending on cultivars. Delayed flowering, extended flowering period, weak vegetative growth and high heterogeneity of fruit size were observed. Bud break and flowering were delayed by 6–17 days, and the flowering period was extended by 4–10 days. Early cultivars seem to be in general less sensitive to low chill accumulation. Nevertheless, some early, mid-season and late ripening cultivars were severely affected and seem to be highly sensitive to warm conditions. With the increasing frequency of warmer winters, planting early ripening and low chilling cultivars and adopting new practices that increase assimilation could compensate for the effect of the observed anomalies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Ecoregions are generally homogenous areas that comprise similar associations of geology, climate, soils, land use, and potential natural vegetation. However, a certain amount of physical variability exists in ecoregions which makes them spatially diverse in their characteristics. Euclidean Sum of Squares was used to calculate the amount of stream reach dissimilarity within and between three prominent eastern Oklahoma ecoregions: Boston Mountains, Ozark Highlands, and Ouachita Mountains. Dissimilarity proximity coefficients were used to cluster stream reaches and create exemplars for each cluster. Streams were classified using the Rosgen classification to evaluate whether dissimilarity values could be applied to the classification. Metrics used to calculate stream reach dissimilarity were median particle size, bankfull width, width-depth ratio, gradient, and sinuosity. Maximum stream reach dissimilarity between two sites within the same ecoregion is highest in the Ouachita Mountains (18.59) and followed by the Ozark Highlands (13.12) and Boston Mountains (9.58). Removal of ecoregion boundaries increased maximum proximity coefficient dissimilarity between two sites in the Ozark Highlands and Ouachita Mountains to 34.26. Utilizing the dissimilarity of channel morphology for the purpose of regional classification helps in the understanding of how broad-scale processes influence the fluvial system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]