Mitigation and adaptation strategies with respect to impacts of climate change/variability and natural disasters in RA- II region by H. P. Das Division of Agricultural Meteorology India Meteorological Department

Agrometeorological adaptative strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change and variability Adaptation measures designed to anticipate the potential effects of climate change can help to offset many of the negative effects. Adaptation measures that ameliorate the impacts of present day climate variability include sea defences, institutional adaptations, plant breeding and adoption of new technologies in agriculture. Adjustment of planting dates to minimize the effect of temperature increase- induced spikelet sterility can be used to reduce yield instability, by avoiding having the flowering period to coincide with the hottest period. Adaptation measures to reduce the negative effects of increased climatic variability as normally experienced in arid and semi-arid tropics may include changing the cropping calendar to take advantage of the wet period and to avoid extreme weather events (e.g., typhoons and storms) during the growing season.

Agrometeorological adaptative strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change and variability (Contd…) Crop varieties that are resistant to lodging (e.g., short rice cultivars) may withstand strong winds during the sensitive stage of crop growth. A combination of farm level adaptations and economic adjustments such as increased investment in agriculture infrastructure and reallocation of land and water would be desired in the agricultural sector. Other adaptive options included developing cultivars resistant to climate change; adopting new farm techniques that will respond to the management of crops under stressful conditions, plant pests and disease; design and development of efficient farm implements.

Regional Adaptative strategies Boreal Asia where global warming should play a positive role for agriculture. The growing season is likely to expand by months by  The key step for an agriculture adaptation strategy could be the choice of suitable crops and cultivars.  Shifts on sowing date of spring crops will allow more effective use of the soil moisture content formed by snow melting.  The dates of spring crop sowing could be moved forward in a crop rotation calendar in southern regions, and farmers could plant a second crop that could even be vegetable with a short growth period.  Optimum use of fertilizers and ecologically clean agrotechnologies would be beneficial for agriculture.

Regional Adaptative strategies (Contd..) Arid and semi-arid Asia where the major impact of climate change is likely to be an acute shortage of water resources associated with significant increases in surface air temperature. Conservation of water used for irrigated agriculture therefore should be given priority attention. With increased evapotranspiration, any adaptation strategy in agriculture should be oriented toward a shift from conventional crops to types of agriculture that are not vulnerable to evapotranspiration. Developing alternatives such as aquaculture that will partly replace agriculture. Expansion of commercial and artesian fisheries also could help reduce dependence on food productivity. Protection of soils from degradation should be given serious consideration. Trying out salt water resistant varieties of crops in the areas where drainage is poor; diversifying agriculture and food habits of the people primarily limited to some specific cereals, improving to management of irrigation systems; implementing crop livestock integration; changing crop varieties in cropping patterns to suit changing climatic conditions; implementating agroforestry systems etc. are the other adaptive options to be considered.

Regional Adaptative strategies (Contd..) Temperate Asia where projected surface warming and shifts in rainfall are significant and will induce increases in photorespiration, maintenance respiration, and saturation deficits- causing stomatal closure and decline in productivity. An adaptive response in the agricultural sector should be an effort to breed heat resistant crop varieties by utilizing genetic resources that may be better adapted to warmer and drier conditions. Improvements in farming systems, fertilizer management, and soil conservation from major adaptation strategies. Crop architecture and physiology may be genetically altered to adapt to warmer environmental conditions. The genetic resources of seeds maintained in germplasm bank may be screened to find sources of resistance to changing diseases and insects, as well as tolerances to heat and water stress and better compatibility with new agriculture technologies.

Regional Adaptative strategies (Contd..) Tropical Asia where agricultural productivity is sensitive not only to temperature increases but also changes in the nature and characteristics of monsoon Cropping systems may have to change to include growing suitable cultivars (to counteract compression of crop development), increasing crop intensities (i.e., the number of successive crops produced per unit area per year), or planting different types of crops. Farmers will have to adapt to changing hydrological regimes by changing crops. For example, farmers in Pakistan may grow more sugarcane if additional water becomes available, and they may grow less rice if water supplies dwindle. Development of new varieties with higher yield potential and stability is complementary to bridging the yield gap. Improvements in runoff management and irrigation technology (e.g., river runoff control by reservoirs, water transfers, and land conservation practices) will be crucial. Increasing efforts should be directed toward rainwater harvesting and other water conserving practices to slow the decline in water levels in aquifers. Recycling of wastewater should be encouraged in drought prone countries in tropical Asia.

Soil carbon sequestration and mitigating climate change With increased focus on climate change and the development of the Kyoto Protocol and other international treaties which may emerge, soil conservation through carbon (C) sequestration reduces the net CO 2 emission by systematically removing CO 2 from the atmosphere, thereby mitigating climate change. This adds an important new dimension to the issues of soil conservation, namely, the economic benefits gained from creating and trading C credits on the international C market. This is a classic ‘win-win’ situation, being a cost-effective and natural process of mitigating climate change with no adverse ecological impacts compared to oceanic and geological sequestration strategies.

Bio-sequestration of C, both by soil and biota, is a truly win-win situation. While improving agronomic/biomass productivity, these options also improve water quality and mitigate climate change by decreasing the rate of enrichment of atmospheric CO 2. Realization of this vast potential, which is in interest of India, requires adoption of recommended management practices including the use of mulch farming and conservation tillage, integrated nutrient management and manuring, agroforestry systems, restoration of eroded and salinized soils, and conversion of agriculturally marginal lands into restorative land uses. Soil Carbon sequestration in India

IN INDIA

Soil degradation exacerbates depletion of SOC because of reduction in biomass production and low amounts of residues returned to the soil. The low level of SOC concentration in soils of China can be enhanced by Restoration of degraded soils, Conversion of agriculturally marginal soils to pastures or forest lands, Adoption of RMPs on cropland. Strategies of carbon sequestration in soils of China

LocationDepth (m)Soil organic carbon (%)Soil bulk density (Mg/m 3 )Soil organic carbon pool (Mg/ha) ForestGrasslandCroplandForestGrasslandCroplandForestGrasslandCropland Lingyou (0.2 m) (1.1 m) (0.2 m) Total Qingan (0.2 m) (0.1 m) (0.2 m) Total (0.5 m) Table 7 The soil organic carbon dynamics in three land use systems for Lingyou and Qingan sites in the Loess Plateau region Soil bulk density are taken from those of the Loess soils reported by Xiubin et al. (2002).