A study uncovers strategies for water storage and irrigation that can sustainably expand cropland as climate change affects rain-fed croplands. Most agriculture worldwide is rain-fed, but climate change is expected to alter rainfall patterns and exacerbate water stress and heat stress. Irrigation is a potential remedy, ensuring a regular water supply and alleviating heat stress, with the added benefits of expanding usable cropland and increasing crop yield. Lorenzo Rosa, Inez Fung, and colleagues used global climate model simulations to evaluate the need for sustainable irrigation expansion under a climate 3 °C warmer than the pre-industrial era and evaluated the groundwater and surface water resources available to fulfill irrigation needs. The authors found that a so-called "soft-path" approach to irrigation, using small monthly water storage, could expand irrigated land by 70 million hectares and provide food for 300 million additional people. A "hard-path" approach, using large annual water storage infrastructure, could expand irrigation by up to 350 million hectares and provide food for 1.4 billion additional people. According to the authors, the results can guide socioeconomic analysis to identify communities with the greatest need for irrigation as an adaptation to climate change.
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Article #20-17796:
"Potential for sustainable irrigation expansion in a 3 °C warmer climate," by Lorenzo Rosa et al.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Lorenzo Rosa
University of California
Berkeley, CA
e-mail: <lorenzo_rosa@berkeley.edu>
Inez Fung
University of California
Berkeley, CA
e-mail: <ifung@berkeley.edu>