Water is an important resource for various societal needs, with agriculture accounting for 70% of global freshwater withdrawals and 90% of global water consumption. Due to increasing constraints from climate change (among other factors), improved and efficient management of current resources will be critical to continued growth. Given that agriculture production is embedded in a coupled natural and human system, sustainable management analysis of water-related decision making requires incorporation of economic and psychological factors in addition to natural resource factors. Using Sri Lanka as a case study, this dissertation research combines physical insights with social knowledge about crop cultivation to inform assessments of climate change adaptations. Specifically, we characterized spatiotemporal patterns of agricultural drought in the country over the last 130 years, identified the value of shifting the planting date for rice (the staple food of the country), and evaluated the use of seasonal weather forecasts to guide farmer crop selections. Our analysis highlights that while policies and programs that promote production of certain crops may ensure food security in the short-term, the long-term implications of these dynamics need careful evaluation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-07312017-201213 |
| Date | 09 August 2017 |
| Creators | Gunda, Thushara |
| Contributors | Jonathan Gilligan, Eugene LeBoeuf, David Furbish, George Hornberger |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-07312017-201213/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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