Sustainable water resource management in steep-slope agriculture

Abstract

Steep-slope agricultural landscapes are under threat due to climate change. On the one hand, the growing frequency of extreme high-intensity rainfall events concentrated in both temporal and spatial scales are causing flash floods or slope failure risk scenarios. On the other hand, future climate projections indicate a significant expansion of arid zones in the steep slope agricultural system. There is evidence that these landscapes face a high risk of growing water scarcity. Considering their unique role in crop production, ecosystem diversity, and crop production, ecosystem diversity, and cultural heritage, understanding sustainable water resource management for mitigating climate change-induced drought has never been more urgent than today. In these landscapes, unique indigenous knowledge of water conservation is adopted to manage water resources improving their resilience optimally. It is, therefore, necessary to promote water storage to mitigate floods or increase the resilience to prolonged drought (creating at the same time favourable conditions for biodiversity). Modern technological advances (e.g., high-resolution remote sensing and GIS-based modelling) are crucial in supporting these activities and understanding earth’s surface processes.