Abstract
Western Cambodia is the most productive granary in the country. Since most agricultural lands are rainfed and most farmers rely only on their (non-science-based) experience, they would not adjust to changing rainfall. The Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology of Cambodia has been working with The University of Tokyo and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency under the Space Application For Environment (SAFE) project since May 2012. First, we selected the most reliable general circulation models (GCMs). This was done by comparing with Global Precipitation Climatology Project datasets, which are globally produced with data from rain gauges and satellite. Next, future precipitation data were input to the coupled model of hydrology and crop science. For past simulation, we derived soil moisture from Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) / Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR). For both past and future simulations, land use was from ALOS/PALSAR and hydraulic conductivity from The University of Tokyo Land Data Assimilation System, which uses Aqua Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System data as reference. Then, we attained the hydrological condition, optimized planting date, and yield for the future. Finally, we discuss water and food security in Cambodia under the globally changing climate.
