Admission requirements
This course is part of Sustainability, Climate Change and Food and therefore only accessible to students enrolled in that Minor.
Description
Ninety-five percent of Earth’s food is produced atop soil that requires adequate water supply. Climate change increases precipitation variability and stresses water resources, which has profound consequences to food production. To sustain agricultural yields without compromising water resources and associated aquatic ecosystems requires management approaches sensitive to local environmental conditions and farming practices. Governmental bodies concerned with effective management of water resources, including international organizations such as the UNDP and European Union, have a checkered legacy as concerns sustainable management, with salinization, depleted water resources, and soil erosion and land degradation being all too common. In addition to reviewing the environmental basis for climate change we examine opportunities and challenges for food production, which requires irrigation systems attuned to local-scale agricultural approaches and water resource typologies. The course also emphasizes differences between western mechanized agriculture with indigenous (traditional) non-mechanized agriculture to manage water resources, with a focus on both drought cycles and flooding.
Course Objectives
Identify key components and processes related to Earth’s climatic system and climate change scenarios,
Identify and summarize key types of water resources (aquifers, riparian, lacustrine) and their possible sensitivity to climate change,
Knowledge of different types of irrigation systems for management of climate change,
Summarize how climate change impacts land degradation in an agricultural context,
Identify and summarize various drought types, including indices and management,
Identify and summarize various governmental organizations related to water resource management for food production,
Developing knowledge of hydraulic infrastructure for climate change management (esp. dams and dikes) related to food production (i.e., floodplain agriculture) and their environmental impacts,
Timetable
TBA; information will be published before May 2023.
Mode of instruction
- Lectures
Assessment Method
Mid-term assignment
30 % of final grade
Grade must be 5,5 or higher to pass the course
Resit of a fail is possible
Resit will take the same form
Final exam
70% of final grade
Grade must be 5,5 or higher to pass the course
Resit of a fail is possible
Resit will take the same form
Reading list
Hudson, P.F. 2019. Water: how does agriculture impact freshwater resources? Ch. 4, in Food and Sustainability. Behrens, P., Bosker, T., and Ehrhardt, D. (Eds). Oxford University Press.
Hudson, P.F. Houben, P., and Bosker, T. 2019. Soils: what are the impacts of agriculture on soils? Ch. 5, in Food and Sustainability. Behrens, P., Bosker, T., and Ehrhardt, D. (Eds). Oxford University Press.
IPCC, 2019: Climate Change and Land: IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems [P.R. Shukla, J. Skea, E. Calvo Buendia, V. Masson-Delmott et al.] (selected sections)
Additional course readings TBA
Registration
Registration starts early May. Additional information TBA.
Contact
p.f.hudson@luc.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
Students will need to download and use free smart phone apps in class.