Geospatial Technology for Climate Change Impact Assessment of Mountain Agriculture

Abstract

Northwestern Himalaya comprises states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu and Kashmir (JandK). It is a mountain region with varied agroecological situations such as subtropical to temperate climate, undulating topography, and erodible but fertile soils. The uniqueness of geography in the Himalayan region supports diversified farming systems (e.g., terrace cultivation, poultry, horticulture, and livestock raising). In western Himalaya, wheat is the principal crop (36.4% of area) followed by rice (30.7%) and maize (26.3%). Valley bottoms and river basins with assured irrigation water are used for growing rice and wheat as summer and winter crops, respectively. Maize is cultivated on upland slope terraces under rain-fed conditions. However, the area under these food grains sharply declines or remains constant due to the lack of pests and disease-resistant varieties and has caused a shift toward cultivation of fruit and trees. In addition, this Himalayan region has subtropical to temperate climate favorable for growing a wide range of fruits, vegetables, and other cash crops. Small areas with their own microclimatic conditions can provide suitable sites for growing these crops. It experiences sharp variation in climatic variables over very short distances. The vulnerability of the region to human induced disturbance, and extreme climate is well recognized. The Himalayan ecosystem experiences noticeable effects of climate change in the form of rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, reduction of rainy days, increase in frequency of droughts, and other biotic influences.