Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

Agricultural Drought and Climate Change: Drought Indices, Impacts, and Projections

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers
Planned Papers

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 12 June 2024 | Viewed by 5457

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Karam Alsafadi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Geographical Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
Interests: climate change; bioclimatology; agro-climatic indicators; drought risk assessment

Dr. Amit Kumar Srivastava

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES), University of Bonn, Katzenburgweg 5, 53115 Bonn, Germany
Interests: agro-ecosystem modelling; climate change Impact assessment; crop yield forecasting
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Brian Odhiambo Ayugi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Civil Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul 01811, Republic of Korea
Interests: climatology; climate change; extreme events; model evaluation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last few decades, anthropogenic activities altered the components of the atmosphere and led to climate change. Climate change has directly affected the Earth's ecosystems. Many of the observed climatic changes are unprecedented and have serious negative consequences for ecosystems and humanity, such as species distributions, marine ecosystems, biodiversity, cities and urbanization, agro-ecosystems, food security, human health, etc. The agriculture sector is the most vulnerable sector to climate change, owing to its massive size and sensitivity to weather parameters, thereby causing huge economic impacts.

The purpose of this Special Issue of Sustainability MDPI is to gather research papers on advances in geospatial technology tools, climate change models and crop yield simulation, machine learning approach-based drought assessment, agro-climatic indices, and remotely sensed data-based drought indices for monitoring meteorological and agricultural drought, future projections of drought events, and potential mitigation strategies.

To better understand regional meteorological events and agricultural drought characteristics under global warming, we expect to gain more insights into climate change models' ability to adequately predict drought at different time scales and in different agro-ecosystems. Related influences on agro-ecosystems, an assessment of the consequences, enhanced future forecasting and scenarios, agro-ecosystem drought management, and human adaptation measures at the regional and national level for sustainable farming are also among the topics expected to be included in this Special Issue.

For this Special Issue, we are calling for submissions related to but not limited to the above topics. Papers that may contribute to a better understanding of agricultural drought and climate change are invited.

Dr. Karam Alsafadi
Dr. Amit Kumar Srivastava
Dr. Brian Odhiambo Ayugi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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

climate change
agricultural drought
drought indices
agro-ecosystems
remote sensing data
crop yield simulation
agro-climatic indices
geospatial technology tools
sustainable farming

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

19 pages, 10963 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Changes and the Prediction of Drought Characteristics in a Major Grain-Producing Area of China

by Linghui Guo, Yuanyuan Luo, Yao Li, Tianping Wang, Jiangbo Gao, Hebing Zhang, Youfeng Zou and Shaohong Wu

Sustainability 2023, 15(22), 15737; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su152215737 - 08 Nov 2023

Viewed by 817

Abstract

Understanding variations in drought characteristics is of great importance for water resource planning and agriculture risk management. Despite increasing interest in exploring spatiotemporal drought patterns, long-term drought event characteristics and their future changes are unclear in major grain-producing areas in China. In this study, we applied Run theory, Sen’s slope, the modified Mann–Kendall method, wavelet analysis, and three machine learning models to systematically examine drought variation patterns, their future trends, and agricultural exposure in Henan Province, China, from 1961 to 2019. The results indicated that the SPEI-12 showed a significant increase at a rate of 0.0017/month during 1961–1999, but this has gradually changed to a drying trend since the 21st century. Drought event characteristics shifted markedly during these two periods, with drought duration and severity gradually shifting from east to west. The BO-LSTM model performed better than the LSTM and BP models, indicating that the drought frequency, higher drought duration, and drought peak would greatly increase 1.28–3.40-fold and cropland exposure is predicted to increase 1.61-fold in the near future compared to the first two decades of the 21st century. This finding not only helps developing meteorological drought predicting models, but also provides the scientific groundwork for drought disaster prevention and mitigation in Henan Province. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Drought and Climate Change: Drought Indices, Impacts, and Projections)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 1093 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Case Studies on Impacts of Climate Change on Smallholder Livestock Production in Egypt and Spain

by Nesrein M. Hashem, Paula Martinez-Ros, Antonio Gonzalez-Bulnes and Ali Ali El-Raghi

Sustainability 2023, 15(18), 13975; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su151813975 - 20 Sep 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1061

Abstract

Climate change is one of the hot topics of this decade and seriously affects all economic production sectors including the livestock farming sector. In many scenarios, the Mediterranean region is expected to experience unconventional and severe climate change that necessitates adopting effective strategies to improve the resilience of the livestock farming sector, particularly for smallholders. Here, we performed a cross-sectional survey of 277 smallholder livestock farmers in Egypt and 223 in Spain in order to (1) assess smallholder livestock farmers’ awareness of climate change and its potential impacts on animal performance, (2) identify climate change factors affecting animal productivity, and (3) identify the resilience of small-scale livestock farms in the region to the effects of climate change on animal productivity and existing and future needed adaptive measures. The results showed that just over 90% of respondents were aware of climate change and its potential effects on animal productivity, and just over 60% of smallholders in Spain obtained relevant knowledge through their own direct observation, while most smallholders in Egypt obtained knowledge through communication with other farmers and from the media. The role of extension advisors has diminished in the two countries, recording 0.36% in Egypt and 1.35% in Spain. The survey responses suggest that heat waves, humidity, and drought are the major climatic changes affecting smallholding animal production, representing 68.65, 16.34, and 15.01%, respectively. Climatic change appears to have affected primarily milk yield, wool production, and reproductive performance on the smallholding farms in our survey, while affecting meat production, mortality rate, and egg production to a smaller extent. As measures to buffer the effects of climate change, 25% of respondents in Egypt indicated that they have adopted nutritional strategies, 36% indicated that they manage housing conditions, and 6% indicated that they use genetically improved animal breeds. The corresponding percentages among respondents in Spain were 15%, 28%, and 4%, respectively. In conclusion, awareness about climate change as well as adaptation measures are the major axes to sustaining the growing demand for livestock products. Furthermore, mitigation strategies are keys to limiting the upcoming extent of climate change, and there are several adaptation strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Drought and Climate Change: Drought Indices, Impacts, and Projections)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 8416 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Analysis of Three Near-Surface Air Temperature Reanalysis Datasets in Inner Mongolia Region

by Yanqin Xu, Shuai Han, Chunxiang Shi, Rui Tao, Jiaojiao Zhang, Yu Zhang and Zheng Wang

Sustainability 2023, 15(17), 13046; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su151713046 - 30 Aug 2023

Viewed by 807

Abstract

Near-surface air temperature is important for climate change, agriculture, animal husbandry, and ecosystems undergoing climate warming in Inner Mongolia. Land surface reanalysis products feature finer spatial and temporal resolutions, that can provide important data support for the determination of crop growth limits, grassland biomass growth, and desertification research in Inner Mongolia. In this study, 119 in situ observed sites were collected to compare and evaluate the performance of near-surface air temperature in three reanalysis products from 2018 to 2020 in Inner Mongolia. The three reanalysis products included three widely used products derived from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Fifth Generation Land Surface Reanalysis (ERA5-Land), and U.S. Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS), as well as the latest reanalysis product from the High-Resolution Land Data Assimilation System reanalysis product by the China Meteorological Administration (HRCLDAS). Results are as follows: (1) The three reanalysis temperature products all reasonably reflect the characteristics of spatial and temporal changes in surface temperature in Inner Mongolia. Compared with ERA5L and GLDAS, HRCLDAS is more consistent with the observed results. (2) For the evaluation period, HRCLDAS has a certain underestimation of temperature, while ERA5-Land and GLDAS have a significant overestimation of temperature. (3) During high-temperature processes, HRCLDAS is more accurate in simulating higher temperatures than ERA5-LNAD and can demonstrate the changes in high-temperature drop zones. The major conclusion of this study is that the HRCLDAS product demonstrates a relatively high reliability, which is of great significance for the study of climate, ecosystem, and sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Drought and Climate Change: Drought Indices, Impacts, and Projections)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 8349 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Future Scenarios of Bioclimatic Viticulture Indices in the Eastern Mediterranean: Insights into Sustainable Vineyard Management in a Changing Climate

by Karam Alsafadi, Shuoben Bi, Bashar Bashir, Abdullah Alsalman and Amit Kumar Srivastava

Sustainability 2023, 15(15), 11740; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su151511740 - 30 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1019

Abstract

The evaluation of bioclimatic viticulture indices (BVIs) zones, similar to any other crop, necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the spatial variability of climate data. This study focuses on assessing the suitability of BVIs in the Jabal Al Arab region, a significant viticulture area in the Eastern Mediterranean. The aim is to analyze four temperature-based bioclimatic indices and the hydrothermal coefficient (HTC) to map their patterns and spatial variation across the region under climate change scenarios. Daily temperature data from 15 meteorological stations and 57 rain gauges spanning 1984–2014 were utilized, along with downscaled future scenarios (the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) based on the second generation Canadian Earth System Model (CanESM2)) for 2016–2100. Additionally, statistical analysis and hybrid interpolation (regression-kriging) were employed to accurately map the BVIs throughout the region. The results reveal substantial spatial variability in Jabal Al Arab’s climate, with heat accumulation and the hydrothermal index during the growing season significantly influenced by elevation and distance to the seacoast. Additionally, the viticulture zones vary based on the specific index used and the projected future climate scenarios compared to the current climate. Climate change projections indicate a trend toward warmer conditions in the future. Under the RCP scenarios, the region can be categorized into up to three bioclimatic classes for certain indices, in contrast to the current climate with six classes. These findings offer valuable insights into viticulture suitability within each climatic region and facilitate the identification of homogeneous zones. By employing consistent bioclimatic indices and advanced hybrid interpolation techniques, this study enables meaningful comparisons of Jabal Al Arab with other viticulture regions worldwide. Such information is crucial for selecting suitable grapevine varieties and assessing the potential for grape production in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Drought and Climate Change: Drought Indices, Impacts, and Projections)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

25 pages, 10491 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Historical Trends and Characteristics of Meteorological Drought Based on Standardized Precipitation Index and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index over the Past 70 Years in China (1951–2020)

by Jiwei Sun, Shuoben Bi, Bashar Bashir, Zhangxi Ge, Kexin Wu, Abdullah Alsalman, Brian Odhiambo Ayugi and Karam Alsafadi

Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 10875; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su151410875 - 11 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 915

Abstract

Against the backdrop of global climate change, the frequency of drought events is increasing, leading to significant impacts on human society and development. Therefore, it is crucial to study the propagation patterns and trends of drought characteristics over a long timescale. The main objective of this study is to delineate the dynamics of drought characteristics by examining their propagation patterns in China from 1951 to 2020. In this study, precipitation data from meteorological stations across mainland China were used. A comprehensive dataset consisting of 700 stations over the past 70 years was collected and analyzed. To ensure data accuracy, the GPCC (the Global Precipitation Climatology Center) database was employed for data correction and gap-filling. Long-term drought evolution was assessed using both the SPI-12 (standardized precipitation index) and SPEI-12 (standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index) to detect drought characteristics. Two Moran indices were applied to identify propagation patterns, and the MK (the Mann–Kendall) analysis method, along with the Theil–Sen slope estimator, was utilized to track historical trends of these indices. The findings of this study reveal the following key results: (i) Based on the SPI-12, the main areas of China that are prone to drought are mostly concentrated around the Hu Huanyong Line, indicating a tendency towards drying based on the decadal change analysis. (ii) The distribution of drought-prone areas in China, as indicated by the SPEI-12, is extensive and widely distributed, with a correlation to urbanization and population density. These drought-prone areas are gradually expanding. (iii) Between 2010 and 2011, China experienced the most severe drought event in nearly 70 years, affecting nearly 50% of the country’s area with a high degree of severity. This event may be attributed to atmospheric circulation variability, exacerbated by the impact of urbanization on precipitation and drought. (iv) The frequency of drought occurrence in China gradually decreases from south to north, with the northeast and northern regions being less affected. However, areas with less frequent droughts experience longer and more severe drought durations. In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights into the characteristics and propagation patterns of drought in China, offering essential information for the development of effective strategies to mitigate the impacts of drought events. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Drought and Climate Change: Drought Indices, Impacts, and Projections)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Morpho-physiological and Agronomic responses to Water Deficit Stress Tolerance in some Rice Genotypes under application of Nano-Silica, Potassium Sulfate and Proline to acheive agricultural sustainability
Author: Abdelaal
Highlights: Drought stress substantially decreased photosynthetic pigments, growth traits, and yield attributes of rice plants. Application of nano-silica, potassium sulfate, and proline substantially mitigated the deleterious effects of drought and markedly enhanced all the studied parameters compared to control. Application of these substances in rice genotype Giza-178 is an efﬁcient approach to ameliorating drought tolerance and achieving agricultural sustainability.

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Agricultural Drought and Climate Change: Drought Indices, Impacts, and Projections

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (5 papers)

Research

Planned Papers

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI