Water availability in California and across much of the world will become increasingly scarce and variable as climate change affects precipitation patterns and urban residents use more available water. We study the implications of these changes for crop productivity and environmental pollution, particularly how agroecological approaches can help address challenges. Ongoing work, funded by a USDA AFRI Foundational grant, examines how crop rotational diversity affect soil health and the soil microbiome, and in turn, the extent to which more diverse rotations suffer fewer yield losses in more stressful conditions. A related synthesis/review project examines how nitrogen losses from agricultural systems may worsen with climate change-driven changes in precipitation patterns, and how agrocological approaches at multiple scales will be key to mitigating these losses, rather than just fertilizer management.
Effects of long-term crop rotation at the Kellogg Biological Station LTER, where corn has been grown in a monoculure (left) vs. a 3 crop and 2 cover crop rotation (right) for nearly 20 years.