Agriculture and horticulture

Longer growing seasons will not offset the global drop in crop yields

The combination of global changes in crop yields, cropping frequency and cropland area determines the impact of climate change on global agricultural production, and all of them will decrease.

More heat stress for cattle, less milk and meat for us

Climate change will increase heat stress for cattle. By the end of the century, heat stress could reduce global milk and meat production by between 3.7% and 9.8% of production value in 2005.

Read more »

Drought and heatwave crop losses in Europe tripled over the last five decades

The frequency of extreme weather events in Europe has increased over time. As a result, drought and heatwave crop production losses increased from 2.2% in 1964-1990 to 7.3% in 1991-2015.

Read more »

Investment into research must double to halt climate and food crises by 2030, warns CGIAR

World’s largest agricultural research partnership seeks to increase funding to $2 billion annually to support global innovation in the pandemic recovery.

Read more »

Risk of food production failures in different global breadbaskets at the same time has increased

Global breadbaskets are the main regions for food production. The probability of multiple breadbasket failures at the same time has increased substantially for wheat, maize, and soybean.

Read more »

Increasing risks of apple tree frost damage under climate change

Less frost days and earlier blossoming of apple trees may seem like a beneficial effect of climate change, but it isn’t. In Germany, risk of frost damages may increase up to 10% in a 2°C warmer world.

Read more »

Climate change doesn’t have to result in wheat yield losses in southern Europe

Negative effects of climate change on wheat yields can be avoided by using earlier flowering cultivars. Advanced grain filling reduces the risk of exposure to enhanced drought and heat stresses.

Read more »

Climate extremes have a strong impact on global agricultural yields

Almost half of the variability in global maize and spring wheat yields can be explained by climate variability and climate extremes during the growing season.

Read more »

Climate change doesn’t have to increase the challenge of feeding the planet

Global food insecurity doesn’t have to increase as a result of climate change. Crop yield losses can be small up to the 2050s, provided the right adaptation measures are implemented.

Read more »

Devastating Bluetongue outbreaks under future climates can be avoided

Future Bluetongue outbreaks in England and Wales may be double the current size by the 2050s. Animal movement restrictions are sufficient to prevent truly devastating outbreaks, however.

Read more »

Is 1.5°C better or worse than 2°C warming in terms of agricultural impacts? We don’t know!

Scientists are unable to distinguish agricultural impacts occurring with 1.5°C warming from those with 2°C warming. The uncertainties in the impacts of climate, CO2 and trade are simply too large.

Read more »

Without global warming, current crop yields would have been higher

Technological improvements have increased crop yields. Climate change, however, has slowed down the increasing yield trends compared to the yields we would have had without global warming.

Read more »

Expansion of biofuel crops may be more disruptive to food production than climate change itself

+1.5° to +2°C global warming, the Paris targets, will impact crop yields and food prices. The impact of a mitigation policy where croplands are being used for bioenergy crops may be stronger, however.

Read more »

Sustainable water consumption for irrigation can feed an additional 2.8 billion people

Food security and environmental goals can be achieved in tandem. A major increase of global food production is possible by expanding irrigation sustainably into currently cultivated areas.

Read more »

Global warming will increase wheat, rice and maize crop losses to insect pests

Crop yield losses to insect pests will increase globally with rising temperatures. Compared with the past, these losses increase by tens of percent for wheat, rice and maize crop at 2°C global warming

Read more »

Main challenge for Mediterranean region: to increase food production without depleting freshwater resources

Integrated strategies are needed to increase food production, focusing on both higher irrigation efficiency and higher crop yields of rain-fed cropland, whilst preserving valuable water resources.

Read more »

Technology may counterbalance negative impacts of climate change on cereal yields in Western Europe

Climate change will negatively affect cereal yields in Western Europe, a study for France has shown. Still, yields are projected to increase, thank to technological improvements in agriculture.

Read more »

Climate adaptation in the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood: New champions for new challenges?

Presented by Maria Falaleeva of Ekapraekt / Green Network at the European Climate Change Adaptation Conference in Glasgow in June 2017.

Read more »

Adaptation could turn climate change into an opportunity for European rice growers

Climate change may reduce potential rice yields in the Mediterranean. Adaptation strategies could overturn the situation, however, turning climate change into an opportunity for European rice growers.

Read more »

Shifting fruit growing conditions call for adaptation in southern Europe

Shifts in thermal growing conditions may represent a major challenge to the Portuguese fruit sector. Conditions will improve in some areas and deteriorate in others.

Read more »

Climate impacts on European agriculture are not necessarily negative

Climate impacts in Europe are not necessarily all negative. They could be beneficial for many crops and areas of production.

Read more »

Farmers in Eastern Europe will suffer more from climate change than their colleagues in the West

There is no such thing as a European response to climate change. Regions with the same increase in temperature and precipitation will have different impacts of climate change.

Read more »

Northern Europe’s agriculture will benefit from longer and warmer growing season, southern countries will suffer

The prolongation and intensification of the thermal growing season offers several benefits for northern European forestry and agriculture. In southern Europe, negative impacts dominate.

Read more »

Droughts increasingly affect main crop yields in the Republic of Moldova

Droughts are a major problem for the Republic of Moldova: since the 1980s, droughts increased in intensity and persistence.

Read more »

Global warming will reduce global yields of maize and soybean

Maize and soybean are among the most important food crops worldwide. Global warming reduces growing season length and yields for both crops.

Read more »

How can irrigated agriculture adapt to climate change?

The semiarid Guadiana Basin in the southwestern central plateau of Spain (mostly within the Extremadura region) is expected to be one of the basins most negatively affected

Read more »

Climate change impacts on Swiss maize yields unclear

The estimated impacts of climate change on maize yields are subject to large uncertainties. This was shown for a case study in Switzerland.

Read more »

Earlier flowering winter cereals in Spain due to higher temperatures

Temperature and rainfall intensity increase has advanced flowering for a number of winter cereals in Spain.

Read more »

Extreme rainfall intensity and erosivity increases in the Mediterranean region

Climate-change driven increase in rainfall erosivity could have strong adverse effects for the Mediterranean, such as an exacerbated soil degradation

Read more »

Little effect climate change on maize and winter wheat in Switzerland so far

Climate suitability for grain maize and winter wheat has remained fairly stable in Switzerland over the last decades with only weak trends

Read more »

Adaptation potential of European agriculture in response to climate change

The adaptation potential of European agriculture in response to climate change has been assessed for a number of crops. It was shown that adaptation potential is high for maize

Read more »

Threat to future global food security from climate change and ozone air pollution

Global demand for food is expected to increase by at least 50% from 2010 to 2050 mainly as a result of population growth and a shift towards a more `westernized' diet

Read more »

More frequent adverse weather conditions for European wheat production

With 25% of the global wheat area and 29% of global wheat production, Europe is the largest producer of wheat. The increased occurrence and magnitude of adverse and extreme agroclimatic events

Read more »

Crop yield under climate change and adaptation

Global yield impacts of climate change and adaptation have been evaluated by analysing a data set of more than 1,700 published simulations for three crops: wheat, rice and maize.

Read more »

Agricultural land use suitability in Hungary

In 2010, Hungary became one of the top 5 exporters of maize in the world. Under current conditions, crop systems are mainly rain fed, and water licences are massively underexploited.

Read more »

Climate change impacts on agriculture in Northern Norway and potential strategies for adaptation

A longer growing season with higher mean temperatures will enable farmers to increase the number of harvests and, due to the higher growth potential at higher temperature, the total yield per area.

Read more »

Agricultural risk management policies under climate uncertainty

Risk management instruments in agriculture, such as crop insurance and disaster assistance programme, and especially how they are designed, will affect incentives to adapt.

Read more »

Irrigation water demand under climate change

For Europe, by the end of the century, irrigation water demand is projected to decrease for Eastern Europe under scenarios for moderate climate change.

Read more »

Climatic impacts on winter wheat yields in France and Russia

The impact of climate change in recent decades on winter wheat yields has been studied for two wheat producing regions that are critical for the global market.

Read more »

Poleward shifts crop pests and pathogens

The average poleward shift in recorded incidences of crop pests and pathogens since 1960 is 2.2 ± 0.8 km/year for the Northern Hemisphere and 1.7 ± 1.7 km/year for the Southern Hemisphere.

Read more »

Vulnerability hotspots for wheat and maize

There are perhaps five wheat and three maize growing regions likely to be both exposed to worse droughts and a reduced capacity to adapt.

Read more »
x