| ABSTRCT | Maintaining a certain amount of agricultural land and promoting its agricultural land
utilization efficiency is essential in a country. Many innovative strategies for adapting to climate
change have been implemented in developed countries. To achieve the goal of climate change
adaptation for agricultural land, a vulnerability assessment of farmland is indispensable. Based on
the research framework of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, this study applied the
structure of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptation to build criteria and conduct an evaluation of a
designated area in Southern Taiwan. We identified the key factors of the vulnerability of farmland,
through mapping with spatial analysis, and by using geographic information system tools. The
main purpose of the application of a vulnerability assessment is not to explicitly describe the status
of agricultural land to climate change, but to help local government and farmers to identify the
critical area, and to discuss the appropriated adaptive policies. According to the results of the
vulnerability assessment of agricultural land, the entire study region can be divided into three
patterns: Pattern 1, located in the western coastal zone, filled with various attributes of high
vulnerability; Pattern 2, distributed on the central plain region in the east, with complete blocks of
agricultural land and low vulnerability; and Pattern 3, located in the central plain region to the west,
a region in which areas with various vulnerability levels. The following three types of adaptation
strategies for climate change for farmland were established: (1) the enhancement of agricultural
production, (2) the maintenance of agricultural production, and (3) the conservation of the
agricultural environment. The current results can serve as valuable guidelines for governments to
implement feasible local adaptation strategies in the future. |