Drought is a widespread hazard that can tremendously affect the biodiversity, habitat of wild species, and ecosystem functioning and stability, especially in the dry region. Due to its geographic location, the north-western region of Bangladesh has a comparatively arid climate which is very much susceptible to drought occurrence and is marked as a red zone. Despite the growing evidence of the impact of drought on food security and ecosystem functioning, little effort has been paid to mitigate the drought in this region. The present study aimed to assess the drought condition of the north-western region of Bangladesh using earth observation techniques. For this purpose, Landsat data from 1990 to 2020 was used to determine various vegetation indices such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Water Index (NDWI), Moisture Index (NDMI) and Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), along with Land Surface Temperature (LST). Results show that the depletion of forests (2832 km²) and water bodies (6773 km²) resulted from the expansion of settlement (6563 km²) and agricultural land (1802 km²) for the period 1990-2020. Examination of the temporal changes of vegetation indices and LST showed that the values of all indices decreased while the LST increased. The negative correlation between NDVI value and LST indicates that the vegetation in our study was subject to drought-induced shocks. This study reveals the current situation of the vegetation health in the north-western region of Bangladesh in relation to the drought conditions. The findings of this study have practical implications for the policymakers in implementing necessary measures for agriculture, forests, water development, and economic zone planning.

Climate change impacts crop production worldwide, and coastal regions are particularly vulnerable to its adverse effects. Given the projected rise in temperature and shifting precipitation patterns, it is crucial to examine the current challenges faced by farmers in coastal Bangladesh. Using Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), we assessed the perceptions and experiences of farmers and stakeholders regarding the existing agricultural practices, the challenges they face in crop cultivation, and the adoption of climate-adaptive practices in 2 sub-districts in the southeastern coastal region of Bangladesh. Moreover, using the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and the Standardized Terrestrial Water Storage Index (STI), we assessed the frequency and intensity of different climatic conditions in these two sub-districts. Results show that 100% of the respondents reported an increase in dry climatic conditions, the occurrence of untimely precipitation, and a decline in irrigation water during the cropping season. All the respondents in the FGDs expressed a loss of crop production because of these climate-induced disturbances. Despite these challenges, farmers have been implementing several climate-adaptive practices. Among the 9 mentioned climate-adaptive practices, 50% of FGD respondents utilize organic fertilizers, 42% cultivate heat- and drought-resilient crop varieties, use improved irrigation and harvest rainwater, and 25% cultivate integrated crops. The results of quantitative analysis of 3- and 6-month SPEI and STI values show that this region experienced frequent and intense dry climatic conditions during the growing-season, which supports the farmers’ and stakeholders’ concern about the increasing occurrence of droughts during crop growing periods. The results suggest that despite adopting climate-resilient practices under increasing growing-season droughts, farmers require support from the government and NGOs in capacity-building training and input support (e.g., stress-resilient seeds). This study holds practical implications for government, NGOs, and policymakers for ensuring sustainable agricultural productivity in the coastal region of Bangladesh.

Global climate change is projected to increase temperature and alter precipitation pattern, which could affect grassland ecosystem. Long-term observation at a field experiment can be a powerful approach to explore the impacts of climate change on biomass productivity in grassland. In attempting to understand how climatic variability regulates biomass productivity, we analyzed long-term records of temperature and precipitation to examine how variation of temperature and precipitation across 19 years affect biomass productivity. We established the experiment with 64 plots in two blocks and planted 31 species in 30 different mixtures. We harvested aboveground biomass twice a year, sorted biomass by functional groups, and weighed dry biomass. The site was mown after each harvest. We did not apply any fertilizer and water. Using linear regression model, we examined the influences of growing season temperature and precipitation on biomass productivity. The results showed that aboveground biomass productivity in September and annual were significantly increased in post-drought (2003–2015). The relationships of aboveground biomass productivity with growing season precipitation were significantly positive. The results showed that aboveground biomass productivity in June and annual were sensitive to growing season temperature. The relationships of aboveground biomass productivity of the functional group of grasses with early growing season temperature were significantly negative. Early growing season precipitation had a significant positive effect on aboveground biomass productivity of the functional groups of grasses and legumes. Post-drought aboveground biomass productivity of the functional groups of grasses in June and September were declined, whereas legumes significantly increased, which suggests that the role of dominant grasses may shift by legumes with global climate change. Our results highlight that early and late growing temperature and precipitation variability may reduce the aboveground biomass productivity in grassland. Our study implies that the combination of several functional groups is essential for the maintenance of stable productivity in temperate grassland ecosystem.

Protected areas (PAs) are aimed to hold the environmental conditions that facilitate species and ecosystems to persist. PAs can become climatically unsuitable and unable to sustain their current number of species under climate change. The Natura 2000 (N2K) is the largest coordinated conservation tool assigned to maintain the long-term survival of Europe’s most significant species and habitats. In attempting to understand the effectiveness of PAs in the face of climate change scenarios, we tested two hypotheses: (1) PAs in the Alpine and the Boreal biogeographical regions will experience more newly emerged climate conditions (hotter and drier) compared to the climate representation of other biogeographical regions under future climate in Europe and (2) PAs in the Mediterranean and the Continental biogeographical regions will face more consistency in climate conditions due to less area of disappearing and novel climate in future. Current climate data (1960–1990) and projections for 2050 and 2070 of PAs of N2K were extracted from WorldClim global climate data. Principal components analysis (PCA) was performed to construct climate space for the PAs across the biogeographical regions based on 19 climatic variables assessed at 5-km resolution. ArcMap 10.1 was used to map the location of the novel and disappearing climates. PAs in the Alpine region will experience more novel climate conditions in the future compared to other biogeographical regions. The future projections showed that 17.70% of the PAs in the Alpine region will experience novel climate by 2070. Considerable climate consistency was observed in the PAs in the Continental region compared to the other biogeographical regions. Our results showed that about 176 km2 of the selected PAs in the Continental region will face new emerging climate, while about 110 km2 will disappear under RCP 8.5 scenario. The prediction also revealed that in the Mediterranean region 08 PAs will experience novel climate and 786 km2 areas in these PAs will face disappearing climate by 2070. We found that fewer areas of PAs in the Boreal regions will experience disappearing climate in both the scenarios. The portion of novel climate conditions can be seen as a future opportunity to assign new reserves for the species. Our study highlights the importance of conservation planning to increase the connectivity between PAs, identifying novel conservation zones to maximize representation of habitats during the emerging climatic changes as well as designing strategies, management, and monitoring of the individual PAs.

Salinization has become a rising global concern due to its notable effects on agriculture and freshwater resources. Coastal region of Bangladesh has been struggling with elevated levels of soil and water salinity, exacerbated by storm surges and rising sea levels. We assessed nutrient and salinity contents in agricultural and homestead lands, and the level of salinity in pond and canal water in six sub-districts in coastal Bangladesh. Finally, using household (HH) survey, focus group discussion (FGD) and key informant interview (KII), we explored the adaptive practices and challenges of salinity issues in agriculture and drinking water management. Soil nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium contents exhibited significant variations across the sub-districts, which reflect the diversity of agricultural practices and soil management strategies. However, there was no notable difference in soil salinity across the sub-districts, which underscores the commonality of soil salinity as a pressing concern. Shyamnagar (13.99 dS m⁻¹) recorded the highest level of pond water salinity, followed by Assasuni (13.96 dS m⁻¹), Dacope (13.91 dS m⁻¹), Koyra (13.58 dS m⁻¹), Morrelganj (13.33 dS m⁻¹), and Mongla (13.19 dS m⁻¹) sub-districts, which highlights that water salinity decreased from exposed coast to the landward areas. Respondents in HH surveys, FGDs and KIIs identified salinity as a major challenge in agriculture and drinking water. Furthermore, climate-related stresses were recognized as significant challenges impacting crop productivity. The research highlights the feasibility of rainwater harvesting, with 89%–100% of HHs harvest rainwater in HH tanks, as an effective adaptive practice for managing drinking water. The study emphasizes the positive impact of vermicompost in reducing soil salinity levels, which is demonstrated by the 43%–88% of HHs using this practice, indicating its potential as a nature-based solution to address soil salinization. The findings underscore the need for resilient agricultural systems and sustainable water management approaches to tackle these challenges.