Combined effects of climate change and agricultural intensification on soil erosion in uphill shifting cultivation in Northeast India

Bibliographic Data

ID21647726
AuthorsLea S Schröder (0000-0001-5891-7290, Research Unit Sustainability and Climate Risks, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN) University of Hamburg Hamburg Germany, corresponding author), Livia Rasche (0000-0002-6494-2596, Research Unit Sustainability and Climate Risks, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN) University of Hamburg Hamburg Germany), Kerstin Jantke (0000-0002-3126-3888, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN) University of Hamburg Hamburg Germany), Gaurav Mishra (0000-0003-4957-7479, Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Land Management Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education Dehradun Uttarakhand India), Stefan Lange (0000-0002-9213-4465, Transformation Pathways Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) Potsdam Germany), Annette Eschenbach (0000-0002-8778-1342, Institute of Soil Science, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN) University of Hamburg Hamburg Germany), Uwe A Schneider (0000-0002-6833-9292, Research Unit Sustainability and Climate Risks, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN) University of Hamburg Hamburg Germany)
Year2024
Volume35
Issue2
Pages670-686
Publication date2024-01-30
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLand Degradation and Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1085-3278 • E-ISSN: 1099-145X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ldr.4944
OpenAlexW4387820454
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited69

Shifting cultivation will face increasing pressure from erosion‐related land degradation caused by rising cultivation intensities and climate change. However, empirical knowledge about future trends of soil erosion and thus land degradation in shifting cultivation systems is limited. We use the Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) model to first explore the combined effects of climate change and agricultural intensification on soil erosion of uphill shifting cultivation systems, using six surveyed soil profiles. We assess interactions between climate change, the length of the fallow period, and slope inclinations for a near (2021–2050) and far (2071–2100) future period, considering three climate scenarios, five climate models, fallow periods between one and 20 years, and slopes between five and 70% steepness. Our results show a significant nonlinear relationship between global warming and erosion. Until the end of the century, erosion is estimated to increase by a factor of 1.2, 2.2, and 3.1 under the SSP126, SSP370, and SSP585 scenarios, respectively, compared with the historical baseline (1985–2014). Combined effects from climate change, fallow length, and slope inclination indicate that steep slopes require longer fallow periods, with an increase of slope from 5% to 10% multiplying the required fallow length by a mean factor of 2.5, and that fallow periods will need to be extended under higher global warming if erosion rates are to remain at current levels. These findings are novel as they link climate change effects on shifting cultivation systems to different slopes and fallow regimes, making an important contribution to understanding future erosion dynamics of traditional smallholder production systems in mountainous terrain, with relevant implications for policies on agricultural intensification

Agriculture · Climate change · Erosion · Geography · Global warming · Land degradation · Physical geography · Shifting cultivation · Environmental Science · Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies · Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology · Soil erosion and sediment transport · Ecology · Geology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access