Climate Change Adaptation Practices Research Articles

A gendered perspective on climate change adaptation strategies: a case study from Yunnan, China

ABSTRACT Climate change impacts are distributed unequally, despite affecting the entire world and its inhabitants. Economically, socially and culturally deprived groups are more vulnerable to climate change impacts. Women comprise the majority among these vulnerable groups, and it is, therefore, crucial to stress gendered perspectives in climate change adaptation strategies that promote gender equality and sustainable development. To that end, this paper documents the adaptation strategies employed by farmers and examines gender differences in climate change adaptation practices in Yunnan Province, China. A random sampling technique was used to select 1520 household heads for the survey. We used descriptive statistics and a multivariate probit model to document four categories of adaptation measures against a set of household features, social network, financial assets and perception variables. We discovered that female and male respondents do not significantly differ in their knowledge and perceptions of climate change, but female- and male-headed household respondents did differ in adopting climate change adaptation measures. The adaptation measures of female- and male-headed households were influenced by different sets of factors. The most significant determinant for both female- and male-headed households was perception of drought events in the last 20 years, followed by access to loans, while income from non-farm-based work had positive and significant impacts only for male-headed households. Findings from this study will help to elucidate the determinants of climate change adaptation decisions for female- and male-headed households in farming communities and the strategic interventions necessary for effective adaptation.

Managing systemic risk in emergency management, organizational resilience and climate change adaptation

PurposeThis paper applies the theory of cascading, interconnected and compound risk to the practice of preparing for, managing, and responding to threats and hazards. Our goal is to propose a consistent approach for managing major risk in urban systems by bringing together emergency management, organisational resilience, and climate change adaptation.Design/methodology/approachWe develop a theory-building process using an example from the work of the Greater London Authority in the United Kingdom. First, we explore how emergency management approaches systemic risk, including examples from of exercises, contingency plans and responses to complex incidents. Secondly, we analyse how systemic risk is integrated into strategies and practices of climate change adaptation. Thirdly, we consider organisational resilience as a cross cutting element between the approaches.FindingsLondon has long been a champion of resilience strategies for dealing with systemic risk. However, this paper highlights a potential for integrating better the understanding of common points of failure in society and organisations, especially where they relate to interconnected domains and where they are driven by climate change.Originality/valueThe paper suggests shifting toward the concept of operational continuity to address systemic risk and gaps between Emergency Management, Organizational Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation.

The administrator’s dilemma: Closing the gap between climate adaptation justice in theory and practice

Justice theory is intended to guide practical choices, but justice theories struggle to inform many decisions that must be made in climate change adaptation practice. This paper highlights gaps between theory and practice by analyzing the justice dimensions of dilemmas routinely faced by adaptation administrators, using the example of property acquisitions to ground the analysis. Justice theories struggle to assist decision-makers in: prioritizing distribution of resources; distributing programs that cause both harms and benefits; weighing uncertain harms and benefits; identifying participants and resolving conflicts in participatory processes; and redressing historic injustices. Proposals to improve adaptation justice that do not address one or more of the practical dilemmas faced by administrators are unlikely to advance the cause. Absent theoretical or policy guidance, decisions are often shaped by administrators’ unconscious heuristics such as views on the role of government and the purpose of buyouts. Tailoring justice-relevant decisions to local contexts may provide greater benefits than a universal approach to justice, but a relative approach is most likely to be just when justice-relevant decisions are transparent and informed by theoretical and empirical work. Transparency is critical for accountability, evaluation, and policy learning. Justice decisions are often constrained by limited authority, resources, and institutional goals, so achieving greater justice in climate adaptation may require changes in the larger governance systems within which adaptation decisions are made. More nuanced evaluations of adaptation justice, more comparative analyses, enabled by greater transparency in practice, and more holistic approaches to adaptation governance are recommended moving forward.

Barriers and adaptation strategies to climate change among farming households in Guinea Savanna

Identifying appropriate climate policy interventions that improve the resilience of Guinea Savanna farming systems to extreme weather conditions is crucial to reducing food insecurity and poverty. This study explored rural farming households’ encountered adaptation barriers and strategies used toward climate change. Participatory research tools and methods were used to collect data, including household surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and field observations. A multistage sampling procedure was employed in selecting 1,500 respondents in nine livelihood zones prone to drought and floods. Problem confrontation index (PCI) and relative importance index (RII) estimations were used to rank small-scale farmers’ climate adaptation barriers and strategies. Results showed that key barriers to successful climate change adaptation practices included limited access to farm inputs (PCI = 3203), poor access to agricultural machinery (PCI = 3161), and shortage of farm labour and its high cost (PCI = 3026), while the most prioritized adaptation strategies were crop diversification (RII = 0.59), planting early maturing crop varieties (RII = 0.47), and changing the timing of planting (RII = 0.42). This study provides decision-makers insights into farmers’ most adaptation barriers and prioritized strategies toward climate change to design effective and context-specific policies that aim to improve farming resilience to the adverse effects of changing climate.

Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation Practices, and Business Performance in Brazilian Industrial Companies

This study sought to analyze the level of adopted climate change mitigation and adaptation practices and their relationship with the performance of Brazilian industrial companies. The data were collected through an e-survey in 40 Brazilian industrial companies linked to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and analyzed using univariate and multivariate statistical methods. Mitigation and adaptation practices were adopted as independent variables against climate change, while performance parameters (financial, innovative, production, market, and export performance) were included as the dependent variables. Our findings indicate that Brazilian industrial companies have been adopting both corporate practices of mitigation and adaptation to climate change and show that there are relationships between mitigation and adaptation practices and different dimensions of corporate performance. This study contributes to scientific advancement and developing a theoretical model that addresses, in an integrated manner, managing climate change adaptation and mitigation practices and corporate performance.

Examining complementary relationships among climate change adaptation practices of rice producers in Chitwan, Nepal

ABSTRACT This study examines how the complementary relationships among multiple climate change adaptation strategies (improved varieties, irrigation practices and direct-seeded rice, referred to as ‘DSR’) are influenced by access to Extension services, training related to farming practices and weather-related information (referred to as ‘institutional factors’). This study hypothesizes the influence of institutional factors and the resulting effects on their joint adoption using survey data collected from 359 rice producers in Chitwan district of Nepal in 2019. The results indicate: (1) adoption of all the three climate change adaptation practices are complementary to each other; (2) all three institutional factors enhance the likelihood of the adoption of variety, access to Extension and training enhances the likelihood of the adoption of improved irrigation, and information enhances the likelihood of the adoption of DSR and (3) access to Extension and training enhance the complementarities among all three pairs of adaptation practices (variety and irrigation; variety and DSR and irrigation and DSR), while information enhances the complementarity between variety and DSR only. The impact of complementary relationships among multiple climate change adaptation strategies influenced by the institutional factors is particularly valuable for policy makers and government agencies to allocate and prioritize resources.

Agro-pastoralist Resilience: Emerging Challenges towards Innovated Pathways of Climate Change Effects in Semi-arid areas of Kiteto and Kilindi Districts, Tanzania

Climate change and its variability threaten food security globally, making life uncertain, especially among agro-pastoral communities living in fragile semi-arid areas. This trend has necessitated the exploration of the potential designed and developed pathways and the emerging challenges which reduce the adaptive capacity of agro-pastoralists. This study investigates innovative pathways and challenges facing agro-pastoral communities in adapting to climate change and variability effects on crops and livestock production in semiarid areas of Kiteto and Kilindi Districts. A mixed-method research approach under a correlation case study design was employed. Primary data were collected using a household survey which sampled 362 households, Focus Group Discussion (n=6), In-depth interviews (key informants) and field visits. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used in analysing and presenting the findings. The study results indicate that agro-pastoral communities have observed a decrease in rainfall and an increase in temperature trends that were linked to reduced livestock, cereals and pulses crop production thus affecting the agro- pastoral community’s food security status. The study identified innovative pathways as a response to reduced livestock, cereal and pulse crops production which includes growing drought-tolerant crops, practising intercropping, livestock seasonal mobility, traditional grazing management system through by-laws, pastures rotational uses and traditional water reservoirs (Mboutu). Furthermore, the study identified several challenges to overcoming declining livestock production and crop yields, which include inadequate financial capital (91%), droughts (85.4%), unpredicted weather patterns, (74.7%), emergency of new AJASSS Volume 4, Issue No. 1, 2022 page 20 livestock diseases (50.3%), a lack of reliable weather information (44.2%), low livestock prices(40%), insufficient and delayed delivery of agricultural equipment (37%). All these challenges reduced the resilience capacity of agropastoralists. To ensure the sustainability of fragile dryland communities, this study recommends purposeful institutional intervention plans and increased income diversification as well as more capacity-building activities for increased awareness of climate change adaptation practices in semiarid areas of Tanzania which will increase agro-pastoralists resilience.

A menu of climate change adaptation actions for terrestrial wildlife management

AbstractThe real‐world application of climate change adaptation practices in terrestrial wildlife conservation has been slowed by a lack of practical guidance for wildlife managers. Although there is a rapidly growing body of literature on the topic of climate change adaptation and wildlife management, the literature is weighted towards a narrow range of adaptation actions and administrative or policy recommendations that are typically beyond the decision space and influence of wildlife professionals. We developed a menu of tiered adaptation actions for terrestrial wildlife management to translate broad concepts into actionable approaches to help managers respond to climate change risks and meet desired management goals. The menu includes actions related to managing wildlife populations as well as managing wildlife habitat. We designed this resource to be used with the Adaptation Workbook, a structured decision‐support tool for climate adaptation. We describe real‐world examples in which managers have used the Wildlife Adaptation Menu to integrate climate adaptation considerations into wildlife management and conservation projects. Our examples illustrate how a comprehensive and structured menu of adaptation approaches can help managers brainstorm specific actions and more easily and clearly communicate the intent of their climate adaptation efforts.

Assessment of Farmers' Adoption Level of Climate Change Adaptation Practices in the Southern Parts of Tamil Nadu

Climate change is a global hazard to the world's food and nutritional security. As greenhouse-gas emissions in the atmosphere rise, so does the temperature due to the greenhouse effect. The average world temperature is steadily rising and is expected to climb by 2 degrees Celsius by 2100, resulting in significant global economic losses. Climate variability in the form of temperature and precipitation may impact on agricultural production and productivity. The study was conducted in the wetland, dryland, and garden land farming systems of the Tamil Nadu districts of Madurai and Sivagangai with a sample size of 120 farmers. Descriptive statistics were used in this study. For compare all three systems; a simple percentage analysis was performed. The majority of respondents in the wetland (65.00%), dryland (70.00%), and garden land (75.00%) farming reported a medium level of climate change adaptations. Cropping system diversification includes mixed cropping (65.00%), intercropping (36.66%), perennial and tree crop agriculture (30.00%), and fallow cropping (25.8%). Summer ploughing (36.67%) and micro-irrigation systems (34.17%) were among the water conservation strategies used by nearly one-third of those polled. The majority of respondents (85.00%) were rearing cattle followed by working as a r worker (off-farm activities) (56.67%) in the local industry is the second most common income diversification activity done by farmers.Government and agencies must play an important role in improving farmers' adaptive capacity by disseminating agrometeorological data and tools, conducting vulnerability assessments, and providing policy advice to strengthen institutional approaches to disaster risk reduction so that farmers can respond to the immediate risks of climate change and make the best use of climate variability.

The Use of Collaborative Practices for Climate Change Adaptation in the Tourism Sector until 2040—A Case Study in the Porto Metropolitan Area (Portugal)

When climate change became a global concern in the 1980s, mitigation was considered the best strategy to address all challenges. For a long time, it was thought possible to stabilize atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs), which, according to many experts, brought on an unfit adaptation. There are international agreements designed to significantly reduce CO2 emissions and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, but the policy measures taken so far are insufficient to achieve this goal. In addition, the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the relevance of placing this issue at the core of international policies and the need for bottom-up measures and options. The purpose of this paper is to explore how collaborative planning can contribute to adapting the urban tourism sector to climate change in the Porto Metropolitan Area (PMA), located in the northern region of mainland Portugal. In this investigation, we used mixed methods based on the following: (1) the discussion of urban tourism’s adaptation planning to climate change with undergraduate students; (2) the application of a modified Delphi questionnaire survey, to 47 international researchers and technicians in the first round and 35 international researchers and technicians in the second round, about the predictability of the adaptation measures; and (3) a theoretical-practical workshop aimed to discuss the main action intentions and ways of adaptation in the short and medium term. All empirical data were collected during the year of 2021. This research highlights the need for more detailed information, the weak interaction between stakeholders and the limitation of resources. Our research identifies the main impacts and local vulnerabilities and determines priorities for adaptation and implementation of actions, aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change and maintaining tourism attractiveness in urban areas. In addition, this investigation allowed the definition of a research agenda, which seeks to guide the area of tourism climatology regarding the new challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gender, Climate Change Adaptation, and Cultural Sustainability: Insights From Bangladesh

The focus of this paper is mainly to investigate climate change adaptation practices and the applicability of a cultural sustainability approach in understanding gender dimension of the residents of the southwest coast of Bangladesh. It is one of the most vulnerable regions in South Asia due to the significant impacts of climate change. The long-term effects of climate change in this region are the increasing salinity in farmlands, heatwaves, and sea-level rise. The southwest coast of Bangladesh is a classic example of “good practice” as well as the center for learning, implementing, and communicating climate change adaptation actions in practice. The reason for this the collective action carried out to initiate and improve adaptation activities by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of Bangladesh, as well as several national and international development and non-government organizations (NGOs). Using a systematic review of literature, and field-based case studies, we examined how gender and cultural issues (such as the adaptive capacity of men and women, and the transformation of gendered power relations) have been addressed to successfully implement climate change adaptation initiatives in the context of the nominated study area. Our study results revealed that both male and female participants were strategic and capable of dealing with climate change impacts, although the adaptive capacity of the former group was comparatively sturdier than the later. The extent of cultural sustainability was found to be weaker in the study region compared to many other coastal communities in the country. The efforts made by NGOs in collaboration with the governmental bodies of Bangladesh were found contributory in providing knowledge of climate change along with the techniques to adapt to its consequences for the people of the study region. Similarly, the activities of NGOs were found influential in helping the government to support people in adapting to climate change in terms of the gendered and cultural sustainability perspectives. Our findings contribute to the field of climate change impacts in understanding the complexities of rural development.

Urban water crises: Making sense of climate change adaptation barriers and success parameters

In this article, a comprehensive literature review was conducted to investigate why urban water organisations are still lacking climate change adaptation in their water security management and planning, the key barriers and how they could be solved and enabled. In addition, urban water crises in the last decade have been examined to emphasise what happened in recent times due to ignorance of water policy makers and decision takers to understand the significance of potential climate impacts on water, and to embark on adaptation measures. Barriers and success parameters in the literature were discussed with local water professionals of the Queensland tropics, Australia, to understand the applicability and importance of these parameters in the region. A selected group of 20 water professionals were interviewed to validate the climate change adaptation barriers and enablers in the broader context of the tropical Queensland. The study shows a strong need for case study-based research to capture in-depth understanding and challenges of climate change adaptation in the region. Lack of support from stakeholders, lack of holistic guidelines and ambiguous policy frameworks were identified as the most critical barriers for climate change adaptation in the Queensland tropics. Quantifiable terminologies to assess the success of climate change adaptation practice are preferred in the water sector, and calculable water security indicators, if correctly developed, can be valuable tools to measure and track the progress of climate change adaptation success in a local water sector.

Climate Change Resilience and Adaptation Strategies in Ecologically Fragile Urban Mining Communities: A Review of Existing Research and Practice

The growing concern about the changing climate and the need to document its observed impacts have resulted into advances in climate change adaptation practices globally. Despite being among the world’s most vulnerable regions, urban mining communities have diverse resources and contribute significantly to the quality of urban climate. The location of urban communities near mining activities has not only attracted urban development in most cities but has also provided these communities with a good opportunity for sustainable ways of living. However, most research on mines seem to have focused on impacts of mining on the environment with little focus on communities’ climate change adaptation responses. This review paper attempts to address this inadequacy in research by exploring factors that increase urban communities’ resilience and the adaptation strategies they use. The study used an evidence-review strategy involving the collection of information from peer-reviewed articles, books, and reports. A total of 213 documents, which included 122 articles, 60 reports, 31 books and gray literature, were identified with the help of Google Scholar and Web of Science search engines. First, the review paper observes that although the concepts of resilience and adaptive capacity are extensively explored, their meanings still remain unclear due to their multiple interpretations. Second, there seems to be very little consensus on factors that lead to increased resilience and the parameters that should be used to measure progress in becoming more resilient due to multiple interpretations of the resilience concept. Third, very few studies seem to have been conducted to assess progress in becoming more resilient in most urban mining communities. Fourth, there also seems to be a challenge in designing vulnerability and resilience assessment frameworks that are procedurally robust, context-specific and appropriate for decision-making related to adaptation action. This study recommends a need to conduct more comprehensive studies which clearly explore factors that increase resilience and adaptive capacity and those that suggest clear policy options for urban mining communities to supplement the rather limited body of literature in this area.

Navigating complexities towards sustainable food crops production: local practices for climate change adaptation in rural Ghana

Globally, food crops production has been challenged by the impacts of climate change. Climate change scholars have argued that rural dwellers, particularly smallholder farmers who engage in food crops production, suffer the most due to their low capacity to adapt. A growing body of knowledge also suggests that local practices serve as safeguards, that enable smallholder farmers to lessen their vulnerability in food crops production. However, limited scholarly insight has been advanced about sustainable food production via the use of local practices. Through the mixed research approach, the study contributes to local practices and climate adaptation debates by examining the various local practices of smallholder farmers, the challenges they encounter with the use of such practices and the possibility for sustainable food crops production in the future in Ghana. The findings suggest that smallholders encounter multiple drawbacks in attempt to utilize local practices to adapt food crops production to climate change including the advent of modern farming inputs/practices. Even when multiple local practices (the planting of multiple crops’ varieties, switching between crops and livestock rearing, reducing cultivatable land size) are utilized, only the increment in farm size, the use of income/remittances of rural–urban migrants to support food crops production, and early cultivation offered some possibilities of sustaining improvement in food crops production for the future. Therefore, the study concluded that local practices are not necessarily panaceas for sustaining food crops production under climate change. The study recommended that further studies pay attention to the sustainability of local practices under climate change.

Climate change adaptation strategies and shrimp aquaculture: Empirical evidence from the Mekong Delta of Vietnam

Shrimp aquaculture is among the most vital sectors in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam regarding economic well-being, social aspects, and food security beyond the country boundary. Nevertheless, this sector has faced emerging challenges from increased climate variability during recent decades, negatively influencing its outcomes. This paper utilized farm-level data surveyed in 2019 to investigate the mechanisms behind households' decisions to adopt three primary climate change adaptation practices: upgrading pond dikes, lining ponds with plastic sheets, and having settling ponds. This study demonstrates the effects of adopting these strategies on shrimp farming performance. An endogenous switching regression model was employed to deal with potential selection bias and heterogeneity in the decision to adopt or not. We find that the adoption of upgrading pond dikes and having a settling pond result in higher productivity in shrimp farming, and both adopters and non-adopters of these strategies would benefit from the adaptation. As well, education of the farm operators and farmers' belief on changes in climatic conditions and their impacts on shrimp farming are the main drivers behind the adoption behavior. This study, therefore, provides empirical evidence for policymakers to promote specific climate change adaptation strategies that would improve the welfare of shrimp farmers.

Climate change perceptions, impacts and adaptation practices of fishers in southeast Bangladesh coast

PurposeThe small-scale artisanal fishers in coastal Bangladesh are comparatively more vulnerable to climate risks than any other communities in Bangladesh. Based on practicality, this paper aims to explain the local level climate change perception, its impact and adaptation strategies of the fisher in southeast coastal villages in Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the above objective, this study used structural, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussion in two coastal communities, namely, at Salimpur in the Sitakund coast and Sarikait Sandwip Island, Bangladesh. It reviews and applies secondary data sources to compare and contrast the findings presented in this study.FindingsResults show that the fishers perceived an increase in temperature, frequency of tropical cyclones and an increase in sea level. They also perceived a decrease in monsoon rainfall. Such changes impact the decreasing amount of fish in the Bay of Bengal and the fishers’ livelihood options. Analysing seasonal calendar of fishing, findings suggest that fishers’ well-being is highly associated with the amount of fish yield, rather than climatic stress, certain non-climatic factors (such as the governmental rules, less profit, bank erosion and commercial fishing) also affected their livelihood. The major adaptation strategies undertaken include, but are not limited to, installation of tube well or rainwater harvesting plant for safe drinking water, raising plinth of the house to cope with inundation and use of solar panel/biogas for electricity.Originality/valueDespite experiencing social stress and extreme climatic events and disasters, the majority of the fishing community expressed that they would not change their profession in future. The research suggests implementing risk reduction strategies in the coastal region of Bangladesh that supports the small-scale fishers to sustain their livelihood despite climate change consequences.

Assessing the determinants of smallholder cocoa farmers’ adoption of agronomic practices for climate change adaptation in Ghana

AbstractOver the years, cocoa has been the bedrock of the Ghanaian economy and a source of livelihood for most cocoa farming households. Empirical studies have established that cocoa farmers have begun to adopt various agronomic measures for climate change adaptation. However, factors that influence farmers’ decisions to adopt these agronomic practices to enable successful adaptation to climate change are least investigated. The study aimed at investigating smallholder cocoa farmers’ decisions to adopt agronomic practices for climate change adaptation in Ghana. The study adopted a mixed method approach to research, and involved 259 cocoa farmers. Using the thematic and multivariate probit regression model (MVP) to data analysis, the results revealed that farmers’ decisions to adopt soil conservation, pruning/shade management and planting of new crop varieties are determined by a number of mixed factors including access to agricultural land, access to credit, farmer farm experience and access to extension services. The study recommends the need for the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources together with the traditional authorities and other relevant land sector agencies to develop and implement context-specific and appropriate land-use policy strategies that support access to sustainable land for adoption of climate smart agricultural practices. Again, the study recommends the need for the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to deploy more extension agents into rural cocoa farming communities to take farmers through more pragmatic agronomic practices for climate change adaptation and improves returns in investment in cocoa farming.

Determinants of Ruminant Farmers' Use of Sustainable Production Practices for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in Enugu State, Nigeria.

A sustainable ruminant production system ensures economically viable livestock systems that meet the current and future demands of animal products as well as the environmental safety of current and future generations. The study analyzed the determinants of ruminant farmers' use of sustainable production practices for climate change adaptation and mitigation in Enugu State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select ninety six (96) ruminant farmers that constituted the sample for the study. Semi-structured interview schedule with open ended questions was used in data collection. Data were analyzed using multiple regression and Pearson Moment Correlation statistics. Access to veterinary services (t = 2.056, p = 0.044), monthly household income (t = 3.582, p = 0.001) and annual income from ruminant production (t = −2.635, p = 0.011) were socio-economic factors that significantly influenced use of sustainable practices. The adjusted R- square implies that the three factors were able to explain 24% of variance in use of sustainable practices. There is a significant positive correlation (r = 0.426, p = 0.000) between knowledge level of farmers and their use of sustainable production practices. Schemes for financial inclusion such as payment for ecosystem services can spur farmers to adopt mitigation strategies. Improved climate change knowledge can enhance ruminant farmer's resilience to the increasing impacts of climate change.

Impact of smallholder farmers’ climate-smart adaptation practices on wheat yield in southern Ethiopia

ABSTRACT This study explored factors that determine smallholder farmers’ climate change adaptation practices and their impact on wheat yield in the Lemo district of southern Ethiopia. Focus group discussions and stakeholder consultations were used to supplement survey data collected from 537 wheat smallholder producers. We performed an impact evaluation analysis by combining endogenous switching regression (ESR) with propensity score matching (PSM) model to address the issue of unobserved biases. The study indicates that gender, farmers’ education level, farming experience, cooperative membership, access to extension services, and weather information were significant determinants of smallholder household decisions for climate change adaptation practices. Both ESR and PSM models revealed that smallholder farmers’ adaptation practices significantly enhanced wheat yield by 34.35%. This implies that climate-smart practices adopted by smallholder farmers are vital for improving and sustaining wheat yield. Thus, our findings suggest that policy actions should consider existing smallholder farmers’ knowledge and practices in policy actions aimed at mitigating climate change impacts to sustain agricultural productivity.

EPIC model simulation to assess effective agro-ecological practices for climate change mitigation and adaptation in organic vegetable system

Mediterranean agriculture is markedly threatened by climate change and extreme events (drought and flooding). For the first time, the EPIC model was used in a long-term organic vegetable field experiment to evaluate the performance of agro-ecological practices, as adaptation and mitigation measures to cope with climate change in Southern Italy. These practices were a soil hydraulic arrangement (consisting of ridges and flat strips) combined with crop rotation (winter and summer cash crops), organic fertilization (poultry manure vs. no fertilization), and cover crops (pure or in mixture vs. no cover) managed as living mulch, green manure, or flattened by roller crimper. Seven treatments were selected for the simulation procedure. EPIC was calibrated and validated using measured crop yield and soil organic carbon stock values. The statistical metrics of EPIC showed r to be between 0.96 and 0.97, the Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency between 0.54 and 0.94, and the relative root mean square error between 2 and 18%. Then, the model was run under baseline current climate (1985–2014) and near-future climate change (2015–2044) scenarios. Climate change increased both microbial respiration and nitrate leaching compared to the baseline, while soil organic carbon stock change and nitrous oxide emissions were mainly influenced by agro-ecological practices. Cover crop management could be an effective solution to limit negative climate effects, since it allowed improving summer cash crop yield (32%) and soil organic carbon stock change (2%), and reducing nitrogen losses (–34%), as compared to the no-cover-crop system. Finally, under climate change, green manure increased microbial respiration (5%) and reduced nitrogen losses (− 19%), compared to roller crimper flattening. Our findings indicated that the tested agro-ecological practices contribute to re-designing new climate change-resilient vegetable systems, by involving the stakeholders in promoting a co-innovation and co-research knowledge platform and fine-tuning agro-ecological practices in a wider range of environments.