Potato farmers in Switzerland are facing drier conditions and water restrictions. We explored how improving soil health and planting early-maturing potato varieties might help them to adapt. Using a computer model, we simulated potato yields and irrigation water needs under water scarcity. Our results show that earlier-maturing potato varieties reduce the reliance on irrigation but result in lower yields. However, improving soil health can significantly reduce yield losses.

This study takes a data-driven approach to evaluate long-term groundwater nitrate concentration trends in Wallonia, Belgium, over ~20 years following the implementation of regional nitrogen management policies. Results highlight a persistently negative impact of agricultural land use, the importance of sustained policies and long-term monitoring to mitigate nitrogen legacy effects, and the need for improved datasets to better capture controlling factors. 

This study examined how water availability, climate dryness, and plant productivity interact at the catchment scale. Using various indices and statistical methods, we found a 0–2-month lag in these interactions. Strong correlations during peak-productivity months were observed, with a notable hysteresis effect in vegetation response to changes in water availability and climate dryness. The findings help better understand catchment responses to climate variability.

Water infiltration systems in peat meadows commonly reduce groundwater level. Groundwater level fluctuations induce soil volume decreases and increases in both the saturated and unsaturated zone, causing yearly vertical soil movement dynamics of up to 10 cm. Multiyear subsidence rates are of the order of millimeters per year. Such research is vital to increase knowledge of subsidence processes and develop effective measures to reduce land subsidence and greenhouse gas emissions.

A warming climate alters the freshwater availability over land, and, due to related tree cover change and potential forestation, this availability can be further enhanced or negated. We find that large-scale change in tree cover may counteract climate-driven changes on a global scale, whereas, regionally, the climate and tree cover impacts can differ extensively. Current ecosystem restoration projects should account for the effects of (re-)forestation on (non-)local water availability.

Common intuition holds that higher input data resolution leads to better results. To assess the benefits of high-resolution data, we conduct simulation experiments using data with various temporal resolutions across multiple catchments and find that higher-resolution data do not always improve model performance, challenging the necessity of pursuing such data. In catchments with small areas or significant flow variability, high-resolution data is more valuable.