Project Grant 20226701936397

THE REMOVAL OF CROPLAND FROM ACTIVE CULTIVATION, TERMED LAND RETIREMENT, IS INCREASINGLY COMMON IN ARID REGIONS DUE TO ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS SUCH AS DROUGHT AND ASSOCIATED REDUCTIONS IN GROUNDWATER RESOURCES. DESPITE BEING A WIDESPREAD AND EXPANDING PHENOMENON, FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS REMAIN REGARDING THE IMPACT OF LAND RETIREMENT ON CROP HEALTH IN NEARBY CULTIVATED FIELDS, ECOSYSTEM SERVICE PROVISION STEMMING FROM RETIRED LANDS, AND HOW FARMERS PERCEIVE AND RESPOND TO NEARBY LAND RETIREMENT. ADDRESSING THESE KNOWLEDGE GAPS IN CALIFORNIA IS PARTICULARLY CRUCIAL AS THE STATE'S PRODUCERS PLAN FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF, AND EXPECTED LAND RETIREMENT UNDER, THE CALIFORNIA SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT ACT. OUR MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM OF REMOTE SENSING, AGROECOLOGY, AND HUMAN GEOGRAPHY SCHOLARS WILL ADVANCE HOLISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE RISKS AND BENEFITS OF WIDESPREAD LAND RETIREMENT FOR SURROUNDING PRODUCERS, AND CO-CREATE MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS THAT PROMOTE THE PRODUCTIVITY AND SUSTAINABILITY OF REMNANT CROPLANDS IN A CHANGING CLIMATE.WE WILL COMBINE DECADES OF SATELLITE IMAGERY AND FIELD-LEVEL DATA FROM KERN COUNTY, CA, TO CHARACTERIZE REVEGETATION AND QUANTIFY PLANT HEALTH AND EVAPOTRANSPIRATION. USING CAUSAL INFERENCE METHODS, WE WILL IDENTIFY HOW RETIREMENT IMPACTS SURROUNDING PLANT HEALTH AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICE PROVISION. BUILDING ON THESE EFFORTS, WE WILL THEN DEVELOP PREDICTIVE MODELS TO INFORM MANAGEMENT UNDER FUTURE CLIMATE AND RETIREMENT SCENARIOS. WE WILL ENGAGE AGRICULTURAL STAKEHOLDERS IN SEMI-STRUCTURED QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS TO UNDERSTAND PRODUCER PERCEPTIONS OF LAND RETIREMENT AND CONDUCT FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS TO SHARE RESULTS AND CO-DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS THAT MAXIMIZE THE BENEFITS AND MINIMIZE THE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF LAND RETIREMENT. OUR RESEARCH CONTRIBUTES TO SUSTAINABLE AGROECOSYSTEMS: HEALTH FUNCTIONS, PROCESSES AND MANAGEMENT BY IMPROVING AGROECOSYSTEM HEALTH AND PRODUCTIVITY GIVEN LAND USE CHANGES THAT WILL AFFECT ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN ONE OF THE MOST INTENSIVE PRODUCTION REGIONS ON EARTH.