Climate Change Impacts and Ecosystem Restoration Project
Project Leader
Prof. Yasunori Kurosaki, Arid Land Research Center
Project Organization
Climate Change Group
Leader: Prof. Yasunori Kurosaki, ALRC
“Elucidation and future projection of relationships between climate change, dryland ecosystems, and wind erosion”
Ecosystem Impacts Group
Leader: Assoc Prof. Toshihiko Kinugasa, Faculty of Agriculture
“Elucidation of the impact of climate change on dryland ecosystems and livestock production, and the formulation of adaptation measures”
Ecosystem Restoration Group
Leader: Assoc. Prof. Takeshi Taniguchi, ALRC
“Development of dryland ecosystem restoration technology using soil microorganisms and conditioners”
Project Introduction
“Elucidation of the impact of climate change on desertification and dryland ecosystems, and the development of ecosystem restoration methods”
Due to extreme weathers such as heavy rains and extremely hot days, we have also come to directly feel the effects of climate change. Also in drylands, people are experiencing extreme weathers such as heat waves, droughts, cold waves, and heavy rains, and it is projected that the frequency of such extreme weathers will increase in the future. Due to their low levels of precipitation, drylands are characterized not only by less plant productivity, but also by low species diversity. Additionally, as many of the drylands are in developing countries, unsustainable economic activities cause inappropriate land use such as overgrazing and overcultivation which accelerate desertification and weaken ecosystems. There are concerns that desertification will progress further and ecosystems will become even more fragile in drylands as climate change intensifies in the future. In this project, we will elucidate the impact of climate change on grassland ecosystems in Mongolia as the main target area and develop restoration methods for fragile ecosystems. The Climate Change Group uses climate data, field observation data, and satellite remote sensing data to elucidate the relationship between past climate change, ecosystems, and wind erosion, and make future predictions of them based on future projected climate data. The Ecosystem Impacts Group aims to elucidate the impacts of climate change on ecosystems and livestock production, and to formulate adaptation measures for sustainable livestock production under climate change. The Ecosystem Restoration Group develops technologies that contribute to the restoration of dryland ecosystems and sustainable land use through the use of plants, soil organic matter, and soil microorganisms. Much of this research is being conducted in the dryland field with local collaborative researchers, and we are working to solve the problem of desertification, which is the biggest challenge in drylands in light of future climate change.
