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Waha K, Dietrich JP, Portmann FT, Siebert S, Thornton PK, Bondeau A, Herrero M. Multiple cropping systems of the world and the potential for increasing cropping intensity. GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE : HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS 2020; 64:102131. [PMID: 33343102 PMCID: PMC7737095 DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2020.102131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2019] [Revised: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 07/12/2020] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Multiple cropping, defined as harvesting more than once a year, is a widespread land management strategy in tropical and subtropical agriculture. It is a way of intensifying agricultural production and diversifying the crop mix for economic and environmental benefits. Here we present the first global gridded data set of multiple cropping systems and quantify the physical area of more than 200 systems, the global multiple cropping area and the potential for increasing cropping intensity. We use national and sub-national data on monthly crop-specific growing areas around the year 2000 (1998-2002) for 26 crop groups, global cropland extent and crop harvested areas to identify sequential cropping systems of two or three crops with non-overlapping growing seasons. We find multiple cropping systems on 135 million hectares (12% of global cropland) with 85 million hectares in irrigated agriculture. 34%, 13% and 10% of the rice, wheat and maize area, respectively are under multiple cropping, demonstrating the importance of such cropping systems for cereal production. Harvesting currently single cropped areas a second time could increase global harvested areas by 87-395 million hectares, which is about 45% lower than previous estimates. Some scenarios of intensification indicate that it could be enough land to avoid expanding physical cropland into other land uses but attainable intensification will depend on the local context and the crop yields attainable in the second cycle and its related environmental costs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Waha
- CSIRO, Agriculture & Food, 306 Carmody Rd, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
- Corresponding author.
| | - Jan Philipp Dietrich
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Telegrafenberg A31, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Felix T. Portmann
- Goethe University Frankfurt, Institute of Physical Geography, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Stefan Siebert
- University of Göttingen, Department of Crop Sciences, Von-Siebold-Strasse 8, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- University of Göttingen, Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, Büsgenweg 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Philip K. Thornton
- CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), ILRI, PO Box 30709, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
- International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi 00100, Kenya
| | - Alberte Bondeau
- Institut Mediterraneen de Biodiversite et d’Ecologie Marine et Continentale (IMBE), Aix-Marseille Universite, CNRS, IRD, Avignon Universite, France
| | - Mario Herrero
- CSIRO, Agriculture & Food, 306 Carmody Rd, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
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