Quantification of Land Degradation and Productivity of Agro-Ecosystems under Changing Climate and Land Use

Abstract

Agro-ecosystems in dry areas are sensitive to changes in climate and land use. The productivities of these agro-ecosystems are highly variable in both spatial and temporal scales. Accurate and up-to-date information on these production systems at farmscape to landscape scales are important for understanding the food security and sustainability of socio-ecological systems. Due to lack of such information, satellite remote sensing has been used to quantify the land productivity and degradation dynamics of agro-ecosystems under changing climate and land use. In this research, we provide an overview of satellite and in-situ based observations and modeling of land use dynamics, coupled with edaphic and climatic factors in dryland production systems. Our efforts highlights recent advances in satellite-based mapping and monitoring of an integrated agro-ecosystems using time-series vegetation indices, land use pattern, and vegetation photosynthesis model (VPM) to understand the dynamics, pattern as an indicators for prioritizing landscape for better interventions for sustainable developments. Here we attempted to show initial results in the pictorial representation of the outputs/outcomes at spatio-temporal scales ranging from farmscape (<1m), landscape (5-30m), to nationalregional (250-500mm) and global scale (1km).