Daniel R. Dourte

Warming up to climate change: a participatory approach to engaging with agricultural stakeholders in the Southeast US

Within the context of a changing climate, scientists are called to engage directly with agricultural stakeholders for the coproduction of relevant information that will support decision making and adaptation. However, values, beliefs, identities, goals, and social networks shape perceptions and actions about climate change. Engagement processes that ignore the socio-cultural context within which stakeholders are embedded may fail to guide adaptive responses. To facilitate dialog around these issues, the Southeast Climate Consortium and the Florida Climate Institute formed a climate learning network consisting of row crop farmers, agricultural extension specialists, researchers, and climate scientists working in the Southeast US. Regional in scope, the learning network engages researchers and practitioners from Alabama, Georgia, and Florida as partners in adaptation science. This paper describes the ongoing interactions, dialog, and experiential learning among the network’s diverse participants. We illustrate how participatory tools have been used in a series of workshops to create interactive spaces for knowledge coproduction. For example, historical timelines, climate scenarios, and technology exchanges stimulated discussions about climate-related risk management. We present findings from the workshops related to participants’ perspectives on climate change and adaptation. Finally, we discuss lessons learned that may be applicable to other groups involved in climate education, communication, and stakeholder engagement. We suggest that the thoughtful design of stakeholder engagement processes can become a powerful social tool for improving decision support and strengthening adaptive capacity within rural communities.

Rainfall Intensity-Duration-Frequency Relationships for Andhra Pradesh, India: Changing Rainfall Patterns and Implications for Runoff and Groundwater Recharge

Accurate and current rainfall characterization is an important tool for water-related system design and management. Updated rainfall intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) relationships in peninsular India were developed; impacts on runoff and groundwater recharge attributable to changes in rainfall characteristics are discussed. Two data sets were used from gage in Hyderabad city, the capital of Andhra Pradesh: hourly rainfall data for the 19 years from 1993–2011 and daily rainfall data for the 30 years from 1982–2011. Hourly data were used to develop updated rainfall IDF relationships; daily data were used for trend analysis of threshold-based rainfall events. IDF curves were developed for return periods of 2, 5, 10, 15, 25, 50, 75, and 100 years for 1-, 2-, 4-, 8-, and 24-h durations. The updated IDF relationships showed a significant change in rainfall characteristics compared with older relationships for the region surrounding Hyderabad, India; they showed greater rainfall intensities across all durations and return periods. Greater intensity storms may reduce groundwater recharge and increase runoff, making the surface storage of runoff increasingly important to enhance recharge and reduce flooding risks.

Crop Water Requirements of Mature Southern Highbush Blueberries

Measures of crop water use for mature blueberry plantings could offer improved irrigation management by growers, reducing irrigation diversions. The objective of this research was to provide crop coefficients for mature southern highbush blueberry plants. Measures of crop water requirements were made using a water balance enabled by suction lysimeters. Eight established, mature plants were instrumented for water balance. Irrigation was managed to ensure well-watered conditions. Monthly crop coefficients ranged from 0.59 to 1.10 with an annual mean of 0.84.

Crop Water Requirements of Mature Blueberries in Florida

Climate-specific measures of crop water use of mature blueberry plantings could offer growers improved irrigation management. In contribution to improved irrigation management practices for Florida blueberry growers, this paper presents a crop coefficient for mature Southern highbush blueberry plants. Measures of crop water requirements were made using a water balance enabled by drainage lysimeters. Grower-controlled irrigation management is compared with a shorter, researchermanaged, timer-controlled schedule. A researcher-managed plot on a commercial blueberry farm is irrigated independently of the grower’s fields, enabling comparison of crop ET and beneficial evaporated fractions, the ratio of water used for crop development to the gross irrigation diversion between grower-controlled and researcher-managed timer-controlled irrigation management. Four lysimeters in the researcher-managed plot and four lysimeters in a six acre plot of the grower’s field were used to measure crop water use. Water balance durations range from 7 to 10 days. Lysimeter area corresponds closely to crop canopy area of mature plants. Irrigation inputs are measured by flowmeters, and precipitation inputs are measured by an onsite weather station that is also used to determine reference ET.