How can we adapt agricultural water management to changing climatic conditions with minimum environmental impacts?
Background
Agriculture will be strongly affected by climate change. As temperature increases and summer precipitation decreases, the quantity and quality of harvests is likely to decrease. Thus, farmers must adapt their plant and livestock production, for example in terms of crop rotation, irrigation or livestock choice. Such adaptations in plant and animal production can have negative impacts on the environment: nutrients are more readily washed out or soil erosion increases. A rising need for water in agriculture can also create conflicts with other water users. To minimize such impacts and conflicts, political measures are needed to promote adaptation strategies at the level of single farms as well as at the planning level.
Aim
The research group will develop strategies allowing Swiss agriculture to adapt to climate change. These strategies need to take into account basic economic and political conditions on the one hand, and should not have negative repercussions on the environment on the other. This interdisciplinary project team will develop and apply biophysical models, economic models, spatial optimization routines and life cycle assessment tools for the identification and evaluation of adaptation strategies. Farmers as well as stakeholders from the planning and policy level will be involved in the project in order to ensure that the results will be of use to them in their decision-making.
Significance
The results provide a basis for decision-making in the field of sustainable water management in Swiss agriculture under changing climatic, political and economic conditions. Recommendations will be formulated for agricultural operations as well as for spatial and landscape planning.
Original title: Water demand in Swiss agriculture, and sustainable adaptive options for land and water management to mitigate impacts of climate change (AGWAM)
Grant: CHF 461’242.-
Duration: 36 months
Project leaders
- Prof. Dr. Jürg Fuhrer, Forschungsanstalt Agroscope
- Dr. Pierluigi Calanca, Lufthygiene/Klima, Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon (ART)
- Dr. Gérard Gaillard, Ökobilanzen, Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon (ART)
- Prof. Dr. Stefanie Hellweg, Institut für Umweltingenieurwissenschaften, ETH Zürich
- Dr. Annelie Holzkaemper, Lufthygiene/Klima, Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon (ART)
- Prof. Dr. Bernard Lehmann,, Institut für Umweltentscheidungen, ETH Zürich