Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in Agriculture

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Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in
Agriculture

• Daniel J. Archambault
• Research Scientist
• Alberta Research Council
• February 25th,2003

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Alberta Research Council Inc.

• Subsidiary of the Alberta Science and Research
  Authority
• Not-for-profit corporation
• Research and Development
• Technology commercialization
• Fee-for-service

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Integrated Resource Management Division

• Natural resource management
• Technologies for sustainable development
• Environmental Technologies Business Unit
• Adaptation / Biofixation Program
• Greenhouse Gas Strategic Initiative

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Effects of Agriculture on the Environment

• Greenhouse gas emissions climate change
• Run-off of nutrients eutrophication
• Pollution pesticides

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Vulnerabilities of Agriculture to Climate Change

• Research and Development
• Effects of climate change on pests
• Effects on pesticide efficacy
• Drought tolerance and water use efficiency
• Cultivation practices
• Technology Commercialization
• Drought tolerant varieties
• Green manuring
• Integrated fertility approaches
• Renewable biofuels and agrifibres

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Climate ChangePotential impacts on agricultural
crops Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation
Directorate Government of Canada (Oct 2002)
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Climate ChangeSevere weatherDrought /
FloodingElevated temperatures (Global
warming)Elevated CO2Length of growing season
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Climate Change - Drought
Vegreville
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Climate Change - Drought

• Precipitation in Vegreville in 2002 400mm below
  normal
• Barley yields were decreased by as much as 50
• Affects field research

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Climate Change - Drought Effects on crops
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Climate Change - DroughtEffects on crops

• Decreased germination
• Decreased biomass and yield
• Pre-mature aging
• Poor quality

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Climate Change - DroughtAdaptation options

• More extensive irrigation
• On-farm water management
• Increased efficiency of irrigation systems
• Butwater may become limiting
• Drought tolerant varieties
• Improved water use efficiency
• New, drought tolerant crops

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Climate Change - Global Warming Precipitation
and temperature effects on weeds

• Tropical and warm temperate annuals could move
  north if length of growing season increases
• (Patterson et al. 1999)
• Range expansion of weeds into higher latitudes
  might accelerate
• (Patterson 1993 Raham and Wardle
  1990)
• USA estimates 17 crop loss per 1oC temperature
  increase in corn and soybean
• 
  (Lobell and Asner 2003)

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Elevated CO2Biomass production
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Elevated CO2Herbicide efficacy
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Elevated CO2 Weed / crop competition

• In the absence of competition from a crop, wild
  oats biomass increased by 55
• In the presence of barley, no increase in biomass
  of wild oats
• (Archambault et al. 2000)

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Climate Change Elevated CO2Adaptation options

• Increased rates of pesticides
• New pesticides
• New pest control technologies biologicals
• Changes in agricultural practices rotations,
  cultivation

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Elevated CO2Plant nutrition nutritional value

• Elevated CO2 can increase crop yields
• Decreases in nutritional value may also occur
• Crop fertility may need to be adjusted Effects on
  weeds? Weed / crop competition?
• Weed competition might eliminate yield-enhancing
  effects of fertilization

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Adaptation Initiatives

• Climate Change Action Fund (CCAF 1998)
• Science, Impacts and Adaptation Natural
  Resources Canada (15M)
• Impacts and adaptation research
• Development of adaptation strategies
• Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative (PARC
  2000)
• Established through funds form CCAF
• 4 agricultural research projects
• Canadian Climate Impacts and Adaptation Research
  Network Agriculture (C-CIARN-Agriculture 2001)
• Supported by CCAF
• Build a network to promote and facilitate
  research on climate impacts, vulnerabilities,
  risks, and adaptation

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Recommendations

• Several vulnerabilities of agriculture to climate
  change have been and continue to be identified,
  technology development must now become a major
  initiative
• Creation of an Agricultural Adaptation Centre
  focused on technology development
• Increased government investment in climate change
  RD and adaptation technology development