Natural Disasters and Extreme Events in Agriculture (eBook)

Foreword 5
Preface 7
Contents 9
List of Contributors 18
Impacts of Natural Disasters in Agriculture, Rangeland and Forestry: an Overview 22
1.1 Introduction 22
1.2 Natural Disasters – Definitions and Types 23
1.3 Natural Disasters – the Rising Trend 25
1.4 Impacts of Natural Disasters in Agriculture, Rangeland and Forestry – General Discussion 26
1.5 Impacts of Specific Natural Disastersin Agriculture, Rangeland and Forestry 31
1.6 Environmental Degradation and Impact of Natural Disasters in Agriculture, Forestry and Rangelands 37
1.7 Natural Disasters in Agriculture, Rangeland and Forestry – Some Methodological Issues 38
1.8 Mitigating the Impacts of Natural Disasters 39
1.9 Conclusions 40
References 41
The Role of Disaster Preparedness in National Planning with Specific Reference to Droughts 44
2.1 Introduction 44
2.2 Summary and Future Challenges 57
References 58
The Occurrence and Predictability of Extreme Events over the Southwest Pacific with Particular Reference to ENSO 59
3.1 Introduction 59
3.2 Impacts of Extreme Events 60
3.3 Trends in Extremes 61
3.4 ENSO Impacts on Climate in the Southwest Pacific 63
3.5 Predictability of Extreme Events and ENSO 65
3.6 Predictability of Southwest Pacific Climate 65
3.7 Conclusions 67
References 68
Accessibility of Database Information to Facilitate Early Detection of Extreme Events to Help Mitigate Their Impacts on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries 70
4.1 Introduction 70
4.2 The Need for Observational Data and Products 72
4.3 Database Management 76
4.4 Remote Sensing 80
4.5 Geographical Information Systems 82
4.6 Conclusions 85
References 86
Tools for Forecasting orWarning as well as Hazard Assessment toReduce Impact of Natural Disasters on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries 90
5.1 Introduction 90
5.2 Floods 91
5.3 Droughts 94
5.4 Tropical Cyclones 100
5.5 Forest Fires 104
5.6 Volcano 107
5.7 Conclusion 108
References 109
Agrometeorological Impact Assessment of Natural Disasters and Extreme Events and Agricultural Strategies Adopted in Areas with HighWeather Risks 112
6.1 Introduction 112
6.2 Agrometeorological Impact of Extreme Events 113
6.3 Strategies Adopted in Areas with HighWeather Risk 121
6.4 Agricultural Strategies for Community Capacity Building 127
6.5 Disaster Risk Reduction Through Livelihood Concerns 130
6.6 Remote Sensing as a Tool for Disaster Risk Management 133
6.7 Crop Insurance 135
6.8 Conclusion 136
References 136
Damage Assessment of Agrometeorological Relevance from Natural Disasters: Economic and Social Consequences 138
7.1 Introduction 138
7.2 Climate Change and Climate Variability 143
7.3 Variability Shifting Continental Ecosystems 145
7.4 Interdecadal Climate Variability 149
7.5 Economic and Social Consequences 151
7.6 Conclusions 152
References 153
Impacts of Tropical Cyclones on Chinese Lowland Agriculture and Coastal Fisheries 155
8.1 Introduction 155
8.2 Destruction Caused by Tropical Storms in Coastal Areas 156
8.3 Features of TCs Affecting China and TC Disasters 156
8.4 Impacts of Tropical Cyclones on Lowland Agriculture and Coastal Fisheries 159
References 162
Frost and High Temperature Injury in China 163
9.1 Introduction 163
9.2 Frost 164
9.3 High Temperature Injury in China 172
9.4 Conclusions 174
References 174
Impacts of Sand Storms/ Dust Storms on Agriculture 176
10.1 Introduction 176
10.2 Anthropogenic Land Disturbances andWind Erosion 177
10.3 Definition of Sand and Dust Storms 179
10.4 Mechanics of Sand and Dust Storms 180
10.5 Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Sand and Dust Storms 182
10.6 Impacts of Sand and Dust Storms 183
10.7 Measures to Combat Sand and Dust Storms 188
10.8 Conclusions 189
References 190
Disaster Reduction Planning and Response: The Example of National Drought Policy in USA 195
11.1 Introduction 195
11.2 Disaster Management: Shift from Reactive to ProactiveManagement 196
11.3 Rationale for a Coordinated National Drought Policy 198
11.4 National Drought Policy Commission 200
11.5 U. S.Drought Monitor 205
11.6 Latest Developments 208
References 208
Agricultural Drought Policy and Practices in Australia 210
12.1 Introduction – Past Policy 210
12.2 The 1990s – Development of a National Drought Policy 212
12.3 Climate Services in Support of the Drought Policy 214
12.4 Application of the Exceptional Circumstances Policy 216
12.5 Water Management 218
12.6 The 2002–03 Drought in Australia – a Case Study 221
12.7 Relation to Long-term Climate Fluctuations 226
12.8 Concluding Remarks 230
References 231
Significance of Training, Education and Communication for Awareness of Potential Hazards in Managing Natural Disaster in Australia 233
13.1 Introduction 234
13.2 Disaster Mitigation Through Education and Training Programmes by Government Agencies 235
13.3 Community Awareness and Self-help Programs in Australia 235
13.4 Droughts and Flooding Rains – the Effective Use of Climate Information in Managing Extremes of Climate Variability 242
13.5 Towards Improved Lines of Communication 248
13.6 Concluding Remarks 250
References 252
Agrometeorological Disaster Risk Management in China 254
14.1 Introduction 254
14.2 EarlyWarning and Prediction of Agrometeorological Disasters 255
14.3 Risk Assessments of Agro-meteorological Disasters 260
14.4 Popularizing Preventive Measures of Agro-meteorological Disasters 263
14.5 Agrometeorological Information Services 267
14.6 Conclusions 268
References 269
Degradation of Vegetation and Agricultural Productivity due to Natural Disasters and Land Use Strategies to Mitigate Their Impacts on Agriculture, Rangelands and Forestry 272
15.1 Introduction 272
15.2 Definitions of Terminologies 273
15.3 Natural Disasters 273
15.4 Conclusion 288
References 289
Agricultural Drought Mitigation and Management of Sustained Agricultural Development in India 290
16.1 Introduction 290
16.2 Drought Management 292
16.3 Drought Planning in Relation to Climate Change 304
16.4 Mitigation of Drought 305
16.5 Strategic Planning for On-farm Research 311
16.6 Drought Management and Remote Sensing 312
16.7 Risk Transfer Through Insurance 313
16.8 Conclusion 314
References 315
Early Detection and Monitoring of Drought and Flood in China Using Remote Sensing and GIS 317
17.1 Introduction 317
17.2 Status of Drought and Flood Early Detection and Monitoring in China 319
17.3 Examples of Flood Monitoring by NMSC in 2003 326
17.4 Conclusions 327
References 329
The Decision of the Center of a Tropical Cyclone over China CoastalWaters Using a Doppler Radar 330
18.1 Introduction 330
18.2 Pattern Recognition Technique 333
18.3 The Geometric Axisymmetric Center Positioning Method 334
18.4 The Velocity Distance Azimuth Display Positioning Method 336
18.5 Simulated Test 338
18.6 Actual Test of Typhoon Case 341
18.7 Conclusions and Discussion 344
References 345
Application of Remote Sensing and GIS for Analysis of Forest Fire Risk and Assessment of Forest Degradation 346
19.1 Introduction 346
19.2 Climate Change, Climate Variability, and Fire Danger 352
19.3 Remote Sensing Applications of Fire Fuels Monitoring 352
19.4 GIS Applications and Fire Information Mapping 355
19.5 Fire Smoke and Air Quality 355
19.6 Summary and Conclusions 359
References 359
Conclusions and Recommendations 362
Conclusions 362
Recommendations 363
Index 367