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Agronomy
Special Issues
Impacts of Climate Change on Sustainable Agricultural Development
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Impacts of Climate Change on Sustainable Agricultural Development

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Farming Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 November 2020) | Viewed by 23939

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Liette Vasseur

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Brock University, UNESCO Chair in Community Sustainability, Niagara Region, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada
Interests: sustainable agriculture; climate change adaptation; ecosystem management; biodiversity; rural communities

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable agricultural development is an essential step for achieving Goal 2 (end hunger) of the Sustainable Development Goals under the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Sustainable agriculture can include different approaches that aim to reduce the current impacts of agriculture on the planet while ensuring food security. It may include, but not be limited to, conservation agriculture, agroecology, and ecological engineering. Sustainable agroecosystems promote resilience, biodiversity, and spatial heterogeneity, not only in the field but also at the landscape level. Under climate change, such systems will become even more crucial. However, we still need to understand how and what approaches will be the most effective under the current scenarios of climate change. This Special Issue aims to examine these aspects, looking at the impacts of climate change on sustainable agriculture development from different geographical points of view. I would like to invite you to submit an original manuscript that can contribute to better understanding these challenges and what strategies may be effective in the long term for the sustainability of our agricultural world.

Prof. Liette Vasseur
Guest Editor

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. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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

  • sustainable development goals
  • sustainable agriculture
  • climate change
  • biodiversity
  • drought
  • extreme events
  • water
  • agroecology
  • conservation agriculture
  • resilience
  • agriculture development

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 592 KiB  
Article
Does Crop Diversification Involve a Trade-Off Between Technical Efficiency and Income Stability for Rural Farmers? Evidence from Zambia
by Agness Mzyece and John N. Ng’ombe
Agronomy 2020, 10(12), 1875; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10121875 - 27 Nov 2020
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 5230
Abstract
Crop diversification is a climate-smart agricultural technique which helps to improve resilience for farmers in the face of volatile weather due to climate change. Previous research on its effects on technical efficiency has shown mixed results. Despite burgeoning literature on the subject, an [...] Read more.
Crop diversification is a climate-smart agricultural technique which helps to improve resilience for farmers in the face of volatile weather due to climate change. Previous research on its effects on technical efficiency has shown mixed results. Despite burgeoning literature on the subject, an important research question that remains uninvestigated is: does crop diversification involve a compromise between technical efficiency and resilience (income stability) for rural farmers? Using nationally representative rural household survey data from Zambia, this study empirically answers this research question. We employ the Data Envelopment Approach (DEA) for efficiency and a two- step least-squares approach for income variability. Our results show evidence that crop diversification significantly improves income stability but significantly reduces technical efficiency. The paper provides useful implications for policies that promote crop diversification in Zambia and other countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Climate Change on Sustainable Agricultural Development)
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22 pages, 1705 KiB  
Article
“Are They Aware, and Why?” Bayesian Analysis of Predictors of Smallholder Farmers’ Awareness of Climate Change and Its Risks to Agriculture
by John N. Ng’ombe, Moses C. Tembo and Blessing Masasi
Agronomy 2020, 10(3), 376; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10030376 - 9 Mar 2020
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 6530
Abstract
While climate change threatens global food security, health, and nutrition outcomes, Africa is more vulnerable because its economies largely depend on rain-fed agriculture. Thus, there is need for agricultural producers in Africa to employ robust adaptive measures that withstand the risks of climate [...] Read more.
While climate change threatens global food security, health, and nutrition outcomes, Africa is more vulnerable because its economies largely depend on rain-fed agriculture. Thus, there is need for agricultural producers in Africa to employ robust adaptive measures that withstand the risks of climate change. However, the success of adaptation measures to climate change primarily depends on the communities’ knowledge or awareness of climate change and its risks. Nonetheless, existing empirical research is still limited to illuminate farmers’ awareness of the climate change problem. This study employs a Bayesian hierarchical logistic model, estimated using Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC) methods, to empirically determine drivers of smallholder farmers’ awareness of climate change and its risks to agriculture in Zambia. The results suggest that on average, 77% of farmers in Zambia are aware of climate change and its risks to agriculture. We find socio-demographics, climate change information sources, climate change adaptive factors, and climate change impact-related shocks as predictors of the expression of climate change awareness. We suggest that farmers should be given all the necessary information about climate change and its risks to agriculture. Most importantly, the drivers identified can assist policymakers to provide the effective extension and advisory services that would enhance the understanding of climate change among farmers in synergy with appropriate farm-level climate-smart agricultural practices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Climate Change on Sustainable Agricultural Development)
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14 pages, 834 KiB  
Article
Identifying the Critical Stage Near Anthesis for Waterlogging on Wheat Yield and Its Components in the Yangtze River Basin, China
by Jinfeng Ding, Peng Liang, Peng Wu, Min Zhu, Chunyan Li, Xinkai Zhu and Wenshan Guo
Agronomy 2020, 10(1), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10010130 - 16 Jan 2020
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3517
Abstract
Frequent waterlogging near anthesis is a primary constraint for wheat production in the Yangtze River Basin, China. This study aimed to identify the critical stage for waterlogging on wheat yield and its components and identify the possible factors determining this stage. In the [...] Read more.
Frequent waterlogging near anthesis is a primary constraint for wheat production in the Yangtze River Basin, China. This study aimed to identify the critical stage for waterlogging on wheat yield and its components and identify the possible factors determining this stage. In the first experiment (E1), we evaluated three varieties and initiated a 10-day waterlogging starting at the stem elongation (S1), booting (S2), and anthesis (S3) stages. In the second experiment (E2), waterlogging was applied at the stem elongation (S1) and anthesis (S3) stages and for three durations (five, 10, and 15 days). In E1, waterlogging at S1 and S2 resulted in a lower grain yield than at S3. In the second year of E1, grain yield under waterlogging at S1 and S3 was similar but significantly lower than under waterlogging conditions at S2. Waterlogging at S1 and S2 greatly decreased the kernel number per spike and 1000-kernel weight, but waterlogging at S3 only decreased the 1000-kernel weight. Moreover, different varieties did not change the stages mostly reducing grain yield and yield components. In E2, grain yield decreased with prolonged exposure to waterlogging and was significantly lower under 15-day conditions than the five-day conditions. There was no significant interaction between the stage and duration of waterlogging. Finally, our results indicate that in yield formation, a greater reliance on kernel weight instead of the kernel number per spike can contribute to a reduction in yield loss for waterlogging at S1 and S2. This study, therefore, indicates that the stem elongation stage is the most affected by waterlogging. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Climate Change on Sustainable Agricultural Development)
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21 pages, 3231 KiB  
Article
Ascorbic Acid Priming Enhances Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Winter Wheat under Low Temperature Due to Late Sowing in Pakistan
by Tariq Shah, Sadia Latif, Hamad Khan, Fazal Munsif and Lixiao Nie
Agronomy 2019, 9(11), 757; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9110757 - 15 Nov 2019
Cited by 56 | Viewed by 8119
Abstract
Poor seed germination is a crucial yield-limiting factor when winter wheat is sown under low temperature. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of ascorbic acid (AsA) in the extenuation of the harmful effects of low temperature at early and [...] Read more.
Poor seed germination is a crucial yield-limiting factor when winter wheat is sown under low temperature. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of ascorbic acid (AsA) in the extenuation of the harmful effects of low temperature at early and reproductive stages of wheat during 2016–2017 (15 November to 15 December). A two-year experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design with split plot arrangement and with three replicates. Sowing dates (15 November and 15 December) were allotted to the main plot while seed priming (control, hydro-priming, and AsA priming) were allotted to the sub-plot. Results demonstrated that AsA priming significantly boosted different yield characteristics including chlorophyll content, tillers per unit area, number of grains per spike, and 1000-grain weight, contributing higher productivity and biomass during 2016–2017. The results further revealed that AsA could induce the up-regulation of diverse antioxidants (super oxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT)), thus offsetting the adverse effects of sub-supra optimum temperatures of late sowing wheat. It is therefore concluded in this work that AsA priming enhances stand establishment, yield and yield-related traits, antioxidant enzyme activities, and chlorophyll contents when wheat is sown under low temperature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Climate Change on Sustainable Agricultural Development)
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