Regional Environmental Change

, Volume 14, Issue 1, pp 333–345 | Cite as

Farmers in southwestern France think that their arable cropping systems are already adapted to face climate change

  • Magali Willaume
  • Audrey Rollin
  • Marion Casagrande
Original Article
First Online:
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Accepted:

Abstract

Climate change, particularly increasing temperatures and decreasing and highly variable water availability, will affect temperate field crop production. Beyond expected positive or negative impact assessment, there is a need to explore adaptation options for arable cropping systems. Involvement of farmers in the cropping system design process allows tailoring locally relevant and innovative adaptation options while taking into account interactions between crop management choices. In southwestern France, we devised and applied a participatory methodology of cropping system conception adapted to the climate change context. This method is based on prototyping methods as well as the vulnerability concept, and follows three successive steps: presentation of exposure, assessment of crop sensitivity during individual interviews with farmers, and conception of crop system adaptations during collective workshops. The proposed cropping systems differ according to access to water resources for irrigation of farmers. Non- or hardly irrigating farmers considered their current cropping systems to be already adapted to climate change, and focused on improving their efficiency using already known management practices. They did not feel endangered by the future climate scenario. Irrigating farmers were inclined to substitute sensitive crops or even redesign their cropping systems. Nevertheless, they had difficulty to distance themselves from current cropping choices and economical or technical constraints. Proposed cropping systems were thus not very disruptive compared to current practices. This work can be supplemented through assessments of cropping system sustainability and performance according to water and thermal stress.

Keywords

Climate change Cropping systems Irrigation Participatory methods Prototyping Vulnerability Water stress 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding from UMT-Eau, a joint research and development unit (INRA, Arvalis-institut du végétal and CETIOM) working on tools and methods for better agricultural quantitative water management. We would like to thank J.-E. Bergez, G. Martin, and O. Thérond for their helpful comments on the methodology and on the manuscript. The authors are grateful to V. Fuzeau for LPIS data analysis. We would like to give special thanks to all involved farmers. We also thank J. Kendzior for her editorial work in English.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  • Magali Willaume
    • 1
    • 2
  • Audrey Rollin
    • 1
    • 2
  • Marion Casagrande
    • 3
  1. 1.Univ Toulouse, INPT-ENSATToulouseFrance
  2. 2.INRACastanet-TolosanFrance
  3. 3.Unité SCAB, Université LyonISARA-LyonLyon Cedex 07France

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