How will climate change spatially affect agriculture production in Ethiopia? Case studies of important cereal crops

This is the first book to treat the major examples of megadrought and societal collapse, from the late Pleistocene end of hunter–gatherer culture and origins of cultivation to the 15th century AD fall of the Khmer Empire capital at Angkor, and ranging from the Near East to South America. Previous enquiries have stressed the possible multiple and internal causes of collapse, such overpopulation, overexploitation of resources, warfare, and poor leadership and decision-making. In contrast, Megadrought and Collapse presents case studies of nine major episodes of societal collapse in which megadrought was the major and independent cause of societal collapse. In each case the most recent paleoclimatic evidence for megadroughts, multiple decades to multiple centuries in duration, is presented alongside the archaeological records for synchronous societal collapse. The megadrought data are derived from paleoclimate proxy sources (lake, marine, and glacial cores; speleothems, or cave stalagmites; and tree-rings) and are explained by researchers directly engaged in their analysis. Researchers directly responsible for them discuss the relevant current archaeological records. Two arguments are developed through these case studies. The first is that societal collapse in different time periods and regions and at levels of social complexity ranging from simple foragers to complex empires would not have occurred without megadrought. The second is that similar responses to megadrought extend across these historical episodes: societal collapse in the face of insurmountable climate change, abandonment of settlements and regions, and habitat tracking to sustainable agricultural landscapes. As we confront megadrought today, and in the likely future, Megadrought and Collapse brings together the latest contributions to our understanding of past societal responses to the crisis on an equally global and diverse scale.

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Advances in Cereal Crop Genomics for Resilience under Climate Change

Life ◽

10.3390/life11060502 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 502

Author(s):

Tinashe Zenda ◽

Songtao Liu ◽

Anyi Dong ◽

Huijun Duan

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Genome Sequencing ◽

Gene Editing ◽

Agronomic Traits ◽

Cereal Crops ◽

Agricultural System ◽

Plant Genomics ◽

Crop Species ◽

Underutilized Species ◽

Recent Developments

Adapting to climate change, providing sufficient human food and nutritional needs, and securing sufficient energy supplies will call for a radical transformation from the current conventional adaptation approaches to more broad-based and transformative alternatives. This entails diversifying the agricultural system and boosting productivity of major cereal crops through development of climate-resilient cultivars that can sustainably maintain higher yields under climate change conditions, expanding our focus to crop wild relatives, and better exploitation of underutilized crop species. This is facilitated by the recent developments in plant genomics, such as advances in genome sequencing, assembly, and annotation, as well as gene editing technologies, which have increased the availability of high-quality reference genomes for various model and non-model plant species. This has necessitated genomics-assisted breeding of crops, including underutilized species, consequently broadening genetic variation of the available germplasm; improving the discovery of novel alleles controlling important agronomic traits; and enhancing creation of new crop cultivars with improved tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses and superior nutritive quality. Here, therefore, we summarize these recent developments in plant genomics and their application, with particular reference to cereal crops (including underutilized species). Particularly, we discuss genome sequencing approaches, quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping and genome-wide association (GWAS) studies, directed mutagenesis, plant non-coding RNAs, precise gene editing technologies such as CRISPR-Cas9, and complementation of crop genotyping by crop phenotyping. We then conclude by providing an outlook that, as we step into the future, high-throughput phenotyping, pan-genomics, transposable elements analysis, and machine learning hold much promise for crop improvements related to climate resilience and nutritional superiority.

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Traditional communities, territories and climate change in the literature – case studies and the role of law

Climate and Development ◽

10.1080/17565529.2021.1949573 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-20

Author(s):

Luciana Iocca ◽

Teresa Fidélis

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Case Studies ◽

Traditional Communities

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Assessing the potential impacts of climate change on traditional landscapes and their heritage values on the local level: Case studies in the Dender basin in Flanders, Belgium

Land Use Policy ◽

10.1016/j.landusepol.2013.05.010 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 35 ◽

pp. 179-191 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Lien Dupont ◽

Veerle Van Eetvelde

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Case Studies ◽

Local Level ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

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Taking ownership of climate change: participatory adaptation planning in two local case studies from California

Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences ◽

10.1007/s13412-011-0012-5 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 63-74 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Susanne C. Moser ◽

Julia A. Ekstrom

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Case Studies ◽

Adaptation Planning ◽

Local Case

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Droughts, floods and freshwater ecosystems: evaluating climate change impacts and developing adaptation strategies

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf09285 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 62 (3) ◽

pp. 223 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Allison Aldous ◽

James Fitzsimons ◽

Brian Richter ◽

Leslie Bach

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Case Studies ◽

Management Practices ◽

Climate Adaptation ◽

Numerical Models ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

Adaptation Strategies ◽

South Eastern ◽

Eastern Australia

Climate change is expected to have significant impacts on hydrologic regimes and freshwater ecosystems, and yet few basins have adequate numerical models to guide the development of freshwater climate adaptation strategies. Such strategies can build on existing freshwater conservation activities, and incorporate predicted climate change impacts. We illustrate this concept with three case studies. In the Upper Klamath Basin of the western USA, a shift in land management practices would buffer this landscape from a declining snowpack. In the Murray–Darling Basin of south-eastern Australia, identifying the requirements of flood-dependent natural values would better inform the delivery of environmental water in response to reduced runoff and less water. In the Savannah Basin of the south-eastern USA, dam managers are considering technological and engineering upgrades in response to more severe floods and droughts, which would also improve the implementation of recommended environmental flows. Even though the three case studies are in different landscapes, they all contain significant freshwater biodiversity values. These values are threatened by water allocation problems that will be exacerbated by climate change, and yet all provide opportunities for the development of effective climate adaptation strategies.

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European cities facing climate change: water management issue

BUILDER ◽

10.5604/01.3001.0014.9350 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 288 (7) ◽

pp. 78-85

Author(s):

Sebastian Dziedzic ◽

Agata Twardoch

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Water Management ◽

Case Studies ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Urban Spaces ◽

Management Issue ◽

European Cities ◽

Integrated Approaches

The article provides an overview of spatial and legal solutions related to the issue of water management in cities in the context of climate change. The aim of the research is to identify the main differences between the traditional and integrated approaches to water-related infrastructure based on case studies of European Cities at different scales. Gathering, ordering and comparing adequate solutions will allow to establish guidelines for the development of Polish cities and point out directions for architects and urban planners designing urban spaces. The comparison of good examples with theory would make it possible to verify whether practise corresponds with theory, and whether it can actually - through the synergy of measures – bring new quality to urban areas.

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