The outputs of a general circulation model (GCM) and a regional climate model (RCM) were used as inputs for crop models to predict the impact of climate change and CO2 concentration (2×CO2 scenario) on crops and their water use in Spain. Two basins representative of irrigated agriculture were chosen to compare the phenology, aboveground biomass, yield, evapotranspiration (ET), and irrigation requirements for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), and maize (Zea mays L.) under (i) a GCM‐derived climate scenario and (ii) a RCM climate output. Spatial and temporal differences in crop performance could be enhanced by the higher resolution of the RCM. Crop phenology simulated in a 1×CO2 RCM scenario was closer to the observed phenology than the GCM‐derived one. In the 1×CO2 scenario, vegetative phenophases were shorter and reflected the higher air temperatures in the RCM. In the 2×CO2 GCM and RCM scenarios, the crop duration, ET, and irrigation requirements diminished, with no significant changes in the yield and biomass between scenarios of the same model. The higher temperatures in the RCM‐derived scenarios led to higher development rates and shorter phenophases. Nevertheless, the biomass was greater than in the GCM‐derived scenarios, especially in C3 crops. Higher temperatures in the southern areas led to a lack of vernalization in the future climate scenario, which was only detected by the RCM‐DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer). The use of direct output of the GCM is questionable given the orography, land cover, and size of the Iberian Peninsula, and it makes the use of high‐resolution models necessary.
Land related inequality is a central component of the wider inequality that is one of the burning issues of our society today. It affects us all and directly determines the quality of life for billions of people who depend on land and related resources for their livelihoods. This paper explores land inequality based on a wide scoping of available information and identifies the main trends and their drivers. A wider conceptualization of what constitutes land inequality is suggested in response to shifts in how power is concentrated within the agri-food system. Land inequality is the difference in the quantity and value of land people have access to, the relative strengths of their land tenure rights, and about the appropriation of value derived from the land and its use. More data gathering and research needs to be done to better understand and monitor land inequality. Despite data limitations, what can be seen globally is a growing concentration of land in larger holdings leaving the majority of farmers, along with indigenous people and other communities, with less land. As importantly, elites and large corporations are appropriating more of the value within the agri-food sector, leaving farmers and workers with a shrinking proportion of the value produced. A framework is offered to explain the self-perpetuating nature of land inequalities that involve the mutually reinforcing concentration of both wealth and power. This is an unsustainable situation that can only be effectively addressed through challenging the fundamental drivers of accumulation by the few.
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