Abstract
In order to meet future food demand while sustainably managing available land and water resources, irrigated agriculture in semi-arid regions needs to adapt as a response to climate and socio-economic change. In this study, we focus on the Mediterranean region, a dynamic region, which is highly dependent on irrigated agriculture. We provide insight on adaptation strategies implemented on farm level, by doing a systematic review of studies in the region. Our analysis reports 286 implemented adaptations, on 124 different locations throughout the Mediterranean. Additionally, 142 drivers and 324 effects of adaptations were noted. We identified 31 adaptation strategies in 5 main categories: (1) water management, (2) sustainable resource management, (3) technological developments, (4) farm production practices, and (5) farm management. Strategies in the categories water management and farm production practices are most often implemented by farmers in the region. The main driver in the area is water scarcity and adaptations often affected water use and resources in addition to farm practices. Subsequently, we studied the spatial context of adaptations by analyzing the location factors of the five main strategies, using Geographic Information Systems and maximum entropy modeling. Our results show that farmers are more likely to adapt in less rural areas with lower poverty values and better market access, and in areas with higher temperatures and less rainfall. This demonstrates that both biophysical and socio-economic factors determine the context in which adaptations are implemented and that considerable spatial variability in the area exists.
Highlights
The agricultural sector is of vital importance for the Mediterranean
Based on existing frameworks and typologies of adaptations in addition to other available literature, we classified the reported 286 adaptations implemented in the Mediterranean into 31 strategies, which are grouped into 5 main categories
For the scope of this study, the category water management was defined as implementing adaptation strategies directly related to the use of water for irrigation
Summary
The agricultural sector is of vital importance for the Mediterranean. In addition to ensuring food security, the sector employs a considerable share of the population and contributes significantly to the regions’ economy. Due to rising temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns (Giorgi and Lionello 2008; Grasso and Feola 2012; Iglesias and Garrote 2015; Iglesias et al 2011a, 2011b; IPCC 2014). It is estimated that the gross irrigation requirements will face an increase between 4 and 18% if irrigated agriculture does not adapt to these changing conditions (Fader et al 2016)
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