Sustainable Water-Resource Strategies in Agriculture for Climate Change Adaptation

Dear Colleagues,

As the climate crisis poses a threat to water supplies worldwide, agriculture accounts for a significant portion of freshwater withdrawals, primarily for irrigation and especially in arid and semi-arid regions where water scarcity is prevalent. By the end of this decade, water demand is expected to exceed freshwater supply by 40%, increasing twice as fast as population growth. Rising food demand will further exacerbate the need to increase agricultural water productivity, and for the sustainable use of water to be achieved, it will be critical to design and implement innovative resource management strategies and practices in agriculture to mitigate climate variability and preserve water resources.

To improve the resilience and adaptation of irrigated agriculture to climate change, it is of the utmost importance to better understand the driving processes and identify the most suitable crop management strategies to improve water use efficiency and economic benefits while maintaining or hopefully increasing crop yields. 

In this Special Issue, high-quality research articles will address sustainable water-resource strategies in agriculture and their current state of the art, focusing on the latest developments in practices and approach at different scales, including crops, farms, and agricultural systems.

Topics that will be considered in this Special Issue include, among others:

• effects of crop and soil management strategies on water use efficiency (e.g., crop diversification, crop rotation, agroforestry, cover crops, crop residue management, minimum or no tillage, and physiological plant regulation of water productivity) and/or soil water conservation (e.g., mycorrhizal inoculation, use of superabsorbent polymers, amendments, and anti-transpirants);
• improved irrigation water management and effects on water productivity (e.g., drip irrigation, deficit irrigation, subsurface irrigation, water-fertilizer coupling, and use of irrigation adjuvants);
• innovative measuring and modeling approaches.

We also encourage particular attention to be paid to stakeholders' and policymakers' engagement in implementing innovative and integrated strategies in agriculture for sustainable water management, especially in agricultural areas that will be significantly affected by rising temperatures, more frequent droughts, and altered/reduced precipitation regimes in the coming decades. 

Dr. Valentina Baratella
Dr. Claudia Di Bene
Guest Editors

Silvia Vanino
Guest Editor Assistant

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