New Mexico State Universityaces.nmsu.edu

New Mexico State Universityaces.nmsu.edu

College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences

The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences is an engine for economic and community developmentin 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 Universityaces.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 Universityaces.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 on 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 Universityaces.nmsu.edu

Bottom up Approaches to

Sustainable Agriculture

Producer/Scientist Partnerships

New Mexico State Universityaces.nmsu.edu

New Mexico State Universityaces.nmsu.edu

College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences

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

Questions?