Amy C. Ganguli (Ganguli@nmsu.edu) The College of Agricultural, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

New Mexico State University aces.nmsu.edu

New Mexico State University aces.nmsu.edu

College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences

The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences is an engine for economic and community development in New Mexico, improving the lives of New Mexicans through academic, research, and Extension programs.

Amy C. Ganguli (Ganguli@nmsu.edu)

Roadmap & Disclaimer

Goal: Introduce a new USDA project addressing water and other agricultural production issues

• Terminology review
• Rationale
• Project components

Disclaimer

Agroecosystem Concept

(Courtney White, 2010)

Resistance

Photo Credit: Johnny Milano

Resilience

Photo Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel

Photo credit: Henry Phillips

Resistance & Resilience

Ecological Thresholds

Image credit: www.sfnps.org

Useful concept for designing adaptive strategies!

Agroecosystem Resilience

“… the capacity of a system to adapt reorganize and maintain key functions in the case of turbulent and unpredictable change in its environment”

• Casey Hoy

New Day New Story?

Issues: Drought and Climate Variability

• Groundwater in this region is

highly variable

• Tritium isotope measurements

indicate groundwater recharge is rare and occurring primarily along shallow watercourses

• Some towns (e.g., Clovis, NM)

are facing harsh realities

Issues: Dwindling Groundwater

• Some producers have

experienced several wells and/or springs dry up

• Wells can fluctuate up to 30-

40ft over 6 months due to high volume pumping

• Some Producers have been

forced to haul water, invest in new wells, switch practices, etc.

Issues: Dwindling Groundwater

Issues: Changing Land Use and Land Cover

(Vadjunec et al. 2018)

NM TX

Putting Things into Perspective

Bottom up Approaches to Sustainable Agriculture Producer/Scientist Partnerships

The ARID Project

Participatory approaches to Agroecosystem Resilience In times of Drought

The ARID Project

Fact: short and long-term management strategies that are proactive rather than reactive are essential for maintaining ecological, social, and economic resilience.

The ARID Project

Premise: sustainable management solutions are more effectively developed and more likely adopted using participatory approaches including citizen science.

The ARID Project

• Integrated research and

extension objectives

• Builds on previous work
• 5 Year project

ARID Multidisciplinary Team

The ARID Project

Research Areas

• Water (groundwater and precipitation

monitoring)

• Social Science & Policy
• Land Use and Land Cover Change
• Sustainable Agronomic Practices

New Mexico State University aces.nmsu.edu

The ARID Project

Research Locations

• 45 households in
• Union County, NM
• Cimarron, OK
• Las Animas, CO
• Sustainable ag. practices (Clovis, NM)
• Potential expansion

Citizen Science & Participatory Project Benefits

• Fosters stakeholder

and community engagement

• Research contributions

and discovery of new information

• For change to take

root it needs to happen from the top down

New Mexico State University aces.nmsu.edu

Groundwater Measurements

• Static water levels (2x/year)
• Tritium isotopes, general

chemistry, and trace metals (yrs1 & yr3)

• Select wells monitored for

daily water level and temperature fluctuations

• Aquifer mapping

Precipitation Monitoring

Isotope Analysis

• Monthly (10 locations)
• Visit poster #49 for more

information Precipitation Quantity

• CoCoRaHS citizen science

(daily measurements), includes hail and snow

Poster #49 Victoria Blumenberg

Land Use & Land Cover Assessment

sUAS

• Quantify changes in

land use and land cover spanning periods of prolonged drought

• Document fine scale

landscape dynamics to show how the landscape may be changing (e.g., woody plant encroachment)

Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (AKA Drones)

Photo credit: Austin Boardman

Social Science & Policy Components

• Household decision making
• Livelihood impacts and

adaptation to drought

• Gendered differences on

drought perception and adaptation

• Impacts of policy and

associated communication

• n decision making

• Farms in this region

have been transitioning to dryland production where they face challenges due to water limitations, soil erosion, soil fertility depletion, and low productivity

Crop diversification through cover cropping

Sustainable Agricultural Practices

Sustainable Agriculture

Does this improve soil health and increase resilience?

• Website: ARID.nmsu.edu
• Fact Sheets or Extension Publications
• Technical Publications and Reports
• Presentations
• Workshops
• Social Media

ARID Outreach Model

Twitter: @AgroEcoResil Instagram: @agroecoresilience

ARID Social Media

New Mexico State University aces.nmsu.edu

Bottom up Approaches to Sustainable Agriculture Producer/Scientist Partnerships

New Mexico State University aces.nmsu.edu

New Mexico State University aces.nmsu.edu

College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences

The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences is an engine for economic and community development in New Mexico, improving the lives of New Mexicans through academic, research, and Extension programs.

Questions?