Report Outlines Need and Methods for California Agriculture Adaptation as Water Availability Declines

Scientists from the University of California published a report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that urges bold action to adapt California agriculture to declining water availability resulting from climate change. The report notes both increased evaporation and transpiration and larger, more variable flows with less water stored in snowpack. It recommends building systems for water capture, storage, and distribution that can handle large precipitation events. To prevent evaporative losses, scientists recommend replenishing depleted aquifers rather than building above-ground storage facilities. The report also says that farmers could reduce system-wide water use by changing to crops and varieties that are less water-intensive.