Adaptation to climate change through the choice of cropping system and sowing date in sub-Saharan Africa

By Katharina Waha, Christoph Müller, A. Bondeau, J. Dietrich, P. Kurukulasuriya, Jens Heinke, H. Lotze-Campen. 2013

300 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract Multiple cropping systems provide more harvest security for farmers, allow for crop intensification and furthermore influence ground cover, soil erosion, albedo, soil chemical properties, pest infestation and the carbon sequestration potential. We identify the traditional sequential cropping systems in ten sub-Saharan African countries from a survey dataset of more than 8600 households. We find that at least one sequential cropping system is traditionally used in 35% of all administrative units in the dataset, mainly including maize or groundnuts. We compare six different management scenarios and test their susceptibility as adaptation measure to climate change using the dynamic global vegetation model for managed land LPJmL. Aggregated mean crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa decrease by 6–24% due to climate change depending on the climate scenario and the management strategy. As an exception, some traditional sequential cropping systems in Kenya and South Africa gain by at least 25%. The crop yield decrease is typically weakest in sequential cropping systems and if farmers adapt the sowing date to changing climatic conditions. Crop calorific yields in single cropping systems only reach 40–55% of crop calorific yields obtained in sequential cropping systems at the end of the 21st century. The farmers’ choice of adequate crops, cropping systems and sowing dates can be an important adaptation strategy to climate change and these management options should be considered in climate change impact studies on agriculture.

Subfields: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Soil Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/5691d9555bf4d38a671bc34bdfd80aa47513eac6

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In Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

In Soil Science

Citations in the corpus

Abiotic and biotic factors affecting crop seed germination and seedling emergence: a conceptual framework (2018, background): “However, manipulation of sowing dates can be an important adaptation strategy to climate change (Waha et al. 2013) and will be one of the strategies in agroecological cropping systems for escape from or mitigation of biotic and abiotic stresses.”
Brief history of agricultural systems modeling (2017, unknown): “This then prompted crop modelers to incorporate CO2 effects on crop growth and yield if this effect wasmissing, and to use themodels to perform simulation experiments using current and future projected climate conditions (e.g., Curry et al., 1990; Tubiello et al., 2002;Waha et al. 2013).”
Climate change, food security, and livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa (2016, background): “Other research has shown that aggregated mean crop yields are expected to decrease by 6–24 % in sub-Saharan Africa, depending on the climate scenario and the type of crop management (e.g., single cropping vs. sequential cropping) used by farmers (Waha et al. 2013).”
Implications of accounting for land use in simulations of ecosystem carbon cycling in Africa (2013, unknown): “The relative degree of limitation by temperature and precipitation to the sowing dates – or the absence of such limitation in perennially moist areas (where incoming solar radiation generally limits plant production) – was determined based on the local climatology (Waha et al., 2012) (Fig.”
Status of Underutilised Crops in South Africa: Opportunities for Developing Research Capacity (2017, background): “Their main farming systems are agro-pastoral (Table 1), regardless of the AEZ, as livestock constitute an important cultural role [27,28].”
Climate change adaptation and mitigation in smallholder crop–livestock systems in sub-Saharan Africa: a call for integrated impact assessments (2016, background): “…and mitigation, a wide range of options is proposed [many papers; useful reviews include Thornton and Herrero (2010, 2014)], but their potential effect under future climate is assessed quantitatively in few papers only (e.g. Tingem and Rivington 2009; Waha et al. 2013; Rurinda et al. 2015).”
Increasing global crop harvest frequency: recent trends and future directions (2013, background): “Furthermore, high CHF has been found as a risk aversion and crop productivity boosting strategy under climate change conditions in many sub-Saharan African countries [69].”