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Climate change impacts on water sustainability of South African crop production

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Title Climate change impacts on water sustainability of South African crop production
 
Creator Bonetti, S.
Sutanudjaja, E. H.
Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe
Slotow, R.
Dalin, C.
 
Subject crop production
water resources
sustainability
climate change
food security
water footprint
virtual water
water availability
water requirements
water use
groundwater
spatial distribution
forecasting
evapotranspiration
 
Description Agricultural production in arid and semi-arid regions is particularly vulnerable to climate change, which, combined with projected food requirements, makes the sustainable management of water resources critical to ensure national and global food security. Using South Africa as an example, we map the spatial distribution of water use by seventeen major crops under current and future climate scenarios, and assess their sustainability in terms of water resources, using the water debt repayment time indicator. We find high water debts, indicating unsustainable production, for potatoes, pulses, grapes, cotton, rice, and wheat due to irrigation in arid areas. Climate change scenarios suggest an intensification of such pressure on water resources, especially in regions already vulnerable, with a country-scale increase in irrigation demand of between 6.5% and 32% by 2090. Future land use planning and management should carefully consider the spatial distribution and local sustainability of crop water requirements to reduce water consumption in water risk hotspots and guarantee long-term food security.
 
Date 2022-08-01
2022-07-31T04:47:56Z
2022-07-31T04:47:56Z
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier Bonetti, S.; Sutanudjaja, E. H.; Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe; Slotow, R.; Dalin, C. 2022. Climate change impacts on water sustainability of South African crop production. Environmental Research Letters, 17(8):084017. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac80cf]
1748-9326
https://hdl.handle.net/10568/120374
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac80cf/pdf
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac80cf
H051305
 
Language en
 
Rights CC-BY-4.0
Open Access
 
Format 17(8):084017
 
Publisher IOP Publishing
 
Source Environmental Research Letters