DRY: Drought Risk and You

Abstract

Droughts and water shortage threaten the environment, agriculture, infrastructure, society and culture, affecting us all. The DRY project was founded in April 2014, with an aim to develop an easy-to-use, evidence-based resource to inform decision-making for drought risk management in the UK over a four year period.

Description

The approach being used in this research is unique because it draws together information from multiple perspectives on drought science, stakeholder engagement, citizen science and narrative storytelling to better understand drought risks, while other studies have focused on mathematical modelling of drought risk.

Our project spans seven catchment areas in England, Wales and Scotland to reflect different hydrological, socio-economic and cultural contexts in the UK.

The work at Harper Adams is based on the use of mesocosms to investigate the effect of drought on mainstream crops such as wheat and barley and their potential replacements such as durum and quinoa. The droughts imposed will be selected to correspond to the UK predicted emissions scenarios for 2050.

Website: dryproject.co.uk