Climate Change and Agricultural Systems Sustainability in Arid Regions

Background

Climate change poses major challenges to global agricultural production, especially in the aspect of dryland farming. About two billion people worldwide live in drylands, of which about 90% are in developing countries (FAO, 2019). Drylands are also home to a variety of local livestock breeds and plant species that are critical for both food security and livelihoods. According to the FAO Global Agro-Ecological Zone (GAEZ) model system, drylands accounted for 43.2% of the world's total land area in 2020—a figure expected to rise to 44.2% in 2050. Dryland agricultural systems are threatened by increasing poverty, food insecurity, biodiversity loss, frequent droughts and environmental degradation due to climate extremes and unsustainable management. Therefore, understanding the impacts of climate change is important for designing adaptation options for dryland agricultural systems.

The focus topics in this special issue include but are not limited to:

• Dynamic changes and driving mechanisms of agricultural ecosystems in arid areas
• Changes in structure and function of agroecosystems in arid areas
• Agricultural ecosystem services and human well-being in arid areas
• Agricultural ecosystem management and sustainable livelihoods in arid areas
• Climate-resilient or climate-smart agriculture in arid areas
• Agricultural adaptation to climate change in arid areas
• Food and water security under climate change in arid areas
• Effects of climate change on rainfed agriculture
• The coupling of society-economy-environment of agricultural systems in arid areas
• The challenges of achieving SDGs of agricultural systems in arid areas

 Guest Editors:

Prof. Dr. Weijing MA, Lanzhou University, China

Prof. Dr. Yaosheng WANG, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China

Prof. Dr. Sarsekova Dani Nurgissaevna, Kazakh National Agrarian Research University, Kazakhstan

Prof. Dr. Hadi Ramezani Etedali, Imam Khomeini International University, Iran

Prof. Dr. Muhamamd Asif Kamran, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan

Notes

The deadline: 15th August, 2024

The website link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/research-in-cold-and-arid-regions 

And this special issue will be published at the end of 2024.