Dissertation Research: The Impacts of Farmer Adaptation to Climate Variability on Groundwater Salinity and Soil Health in Gujarat, India

面对气候变化，社会的短期反应是否会破坏生态系统和自然资源的长期恢复力？为了回答这个问题，本研究评估了种植适应策略对印度西北部半干旱农业生态系统中地下水质量和土壤健康的影响。该地区的农业社区采用两种作物适应策略来应对气候变化导致的季风变异性增加：(1)加强灌溉或(2)作物转换。虽然这两种应对措施在短期内具有经济适应性，但它们可能导致地下水质量和土壤健康的长期退化。初步数据表明，地下水使用的增加可能已经导致地下水位下降，咸水侵入含水层，土壤养分枯竭。作物转换的影响还不太为人所知。这项工作将确定灌溉强度和作物转向地下水（数量和质量）与土壤健康（土壤有机碳、土壤氮和pH值）之间的关系。这些分析将阐明适应战略对生态系统资源可能产生的长期影响，并有助于确定这些适应战略是否长期可持续。尽管数以百万计的社区与气候和环境有着密切的耦合关系，但很少有研究试图了解人类适应与生态系统长期功能之间的反馈关系；该项目将填补这一空白。此外，为该项目收集的数据将为400名农民提供土壤健康和水质的测量，这将有助于确定其资源基础的不足，并可能使他们能够调整种植决定以提高产量。这项工作的结果也将通过一部简短的纪录片与古吉拉特邦的国家级研究人员和政策制定者以及更广泛的公众分享。

In the face of climate change, do short-term responses of societies undermine the long-term resilience of ecosystems and natural resources? To answer this question, this study assesses the impacts of cropping adaptation strategies on groundwater quality and soil health in a semi-arid agro-ecosystem in Northwest India. Farming communities in this region employ two cropping adaptation strategies for dealing with increasing monsoon variability attributable to climate change: (1) intensification in irrigation or (2) crop switching. While both of these responses are economically adaptive over the short term, they may lead to long-term degradation of groundwater quality and soil health. Preliminary data suggest that increasing use of groundwater may already be leading to falling groundwater tables, the intrusion of saltwater into aquifers, and the depletion of soil nutrients. The impacts of crop switching are less well known. This work will identify the relationship between the intensification of irrigation and crop switching on groundwater (quantity and quality) and soil health (soil organic carbon, soil nitrogen, and pH). These analyses will elucidate possible long-term impacts of adaptation strategies on ecosystem resources, and help identify whether these adaptation strategies are sustainable over time. Though millions of communities have a strong and coupled relationship with climate and the environment, few studies have attempted to understand the feedback between human adaptation and the long-term functioning of ecosystems; this project will address this gap. Furthermore, the data collected for this project will provide 400 farmers with measures of their soil health and water quality, which will help identify deficiencies in their resource base and may allow them to tailor cropping decisions to improve yields. The results of this work will also be shared with state-level researchers and policy makers in Gujarat as well as the broader public via a short documentary film.