Relevant Resources

The Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program (MLRP) is administered by the California Department of Conservation to fund groundwater sustainability projects that repurpose irrigated agricultural land while creating community and environmental benefits. The vision of MLRP is to increase regional capacity to repurpose agricultural land to reduce reliance on groundwater, while providing community health, economic wellbeing, water supply, habitat, renewable energy, and climate benefits. Click here to learn more about MLRP on the Department of Conservation website.

Fernandez-Bou, A. S., Rodriguez-Flores, J. M., Ortiz-Partida, J. P., Fencl, A., Classen-Rodriguez, L., Yang, V., … Bolaño, Y. N. (2024, October 16). Cropland repurposing as a tool for water sustainability and a just socioenvironmental transition in California: Review and Best Practices. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/bvfsm 

Bourque, K., Schiller, A., Loyola Angosto, C., McPhail, L., Bagnasco, W., Ayres, A., & Larsen, A. (2019). Balancing agricultural production, groundwater management, and biodiversity goals: A multi-benefit optimization model of agriculture in Kern County, California. Science of the Total Environment, 670, 865–875. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.197

Espinoza, V., Bernacchi, L. A., Eriksson, M., Schiller, A., Hayden, A., & Viers, J. H. (2023). From fallow ground to common ground: Perspectives on future land uses in the San Joaquin valley under sustainable groundwater management. Journal of Environmental Management, 333, 117226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117226

Fernandez-Bou, A. S., Rodríguez-Flores, J. M., Guzman, A., Ortiz-Partida, J. P., Classen-Rodriguez, L. M., Sánchez-Pérez, P. A., ... & Medellín-Azuara, J. (2023). Water, environment, and socioeconomic justice in California: A multi-benefit cropland repurposing framework. Science of the Total Environment, 858, 159963. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159963

Hanak, E., Ayres, A., Peterson, C., Escriva-Bou, A., Cole, S., & Morales, J. (2023). Managing Water and Farmland Transitions in the San Joaquin Valley. Public Policy Institute of California. https://www.ppic.org/publication/managing-water-and-farmland-transitions-in-the-san-joaquin-valley/

Hanak, E., Lund, J., Arnold, B., Escriva-Bou, A., Gray, B., Green, S., ... & Seavy, N. (2017). Water stress and a changing San Joaquin Valley. Public Policy Institute of California. https://www.ppic.org/publication/water-stress-and-a-changing-san-joaquin-valley/

Kelsey, R., Hart, A., Butterfield, H. S., & Dink, V. (2018). Groundwater sustainability in the San Joaquin Valley: multiple benefits if agricultural lands are retired and restored strategically. California Agriculture, 72(3). https://doi.org/10.3733/ca.2018a0029

Mayzelle, M. M., Viers, J. H., Medellín-Azuara, J., & Harter, T. (2014). Economic feasibility of irrigated agricultural land use buffers to reduce groundwater nitrate in rural drinking water sources. Water, 7(1), 12-37. https://doi.org/10.3390/w7010012

Quandt, A., Larsen, A. E., Bartel, G., Okamura, K., & Sousa, D. (2023). Sustainable groundwater management and its implications for agricultural land repurposing. Regional Environmental Change, 23(4). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-023-02114-2