Agricultural Dimensions Of Global Climate Change

This important book, written by recognized leaders in their fields, discusses agricultural dimensions of global climate change. Research and policy issues are covered and a multidisciplinary view of global climate change and agriculture is presented. Major sections cover the contribution of agriculture to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (including an investigation as to whether monitoring and verification of such emissions would work) and the impact of global climate change on agriculture. The book examines such important issues as global food availability, distributional effects between developing and developed countries, agricultural adaptation possibilities, and whether CO2 enrichment will benefit agriculture. A unique feature of this publication is that it addresses communication difficulties between researchers and policy makers and suggests solutions.

Global climate change threatens human existence through its potential impact on agriculture and the environment. Agriculture is climate-sensitive, and climate variability and climate change have net negative impact on it. Additionally, the agricultural landscape is affected by monoculture and agro-biodiversity loss, soil fertility depletion and soil loss, competition from biofuel production, crop yield plateaus and invasive species. Nevertheless, the global agricultural production system has to meet the food demands from the growing human population, which is set to exceed 10 billion by 2050. This book discusses the impacts of climate change on agriculture, animal husbandry and rural livelihoods. Further, since agriculture, forestry and other land-use sectors contribute about 10–12 gigatonnes of CO2-equivalent per year, it argues that agricultural policy must dovetail adaptation and mitigation strategies to reduce greenhouse gases emissions. This calls for a reformative and disruptive agricultural strategy like climate-smart agriculture, which can operate at all spatio-temporal scales with few modifications. The book also redefines sustainable agriculture through the lens of climate-smart agriculture in the context of the sustainability of Earth's life- support system and inter- and intra-generational equity. The climate-smart agriculture approach is gaining currency thanks to its inherent positive potential, and its goal to establish an agricultural system which includes "climate-smart food systems", "climate-proof farms", and "climate-smart soils". Climate-smart agriculture provides a pathway to achieve sustainable development goals which focus on poverty reduction, food security, and environmental health.

This book provides essential insights into methods and practices of ‘Climate-smart Agriculture,’ which is driven by the principles of climate resilience and smart resource use in agricultural production. Climate-smart agriculture is a key policy instrument for achieving poverty eradication and a hunger-free world, as well as mitigating the effects of climate change. This book discusses in detail climate-smart agricultural technologies and practices that can reduce the vulnerability of agricultural systems, improve the livelihoods of farmers and other stakeholders, and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from crop production and livestock husbandry. The agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sector produces roughly 10–12 gigatons of CO2-equivalent per year; therefore, sustainable practices for agriculture and related land use hold immense potential to mitigate climate change. The potential impacts of climate variability and climate change on agriculture are extensively documented and articulated, especially with regard to global and national environmental agendas that call for innovation, transformation and climate-resilient advances in agriculture. As the book demonstrates, climate-smart agriculture offers an excellent tool for boosting agricultural output to feed the growing global population; for reducing greenhouse gases emissions from agriculture and other land use; and for protecting agricultural production systems from the impending dangers of climate change.

This book provides a snapshot on economic thinking about global change and provides a starting point for researchers for evaluating the economics of global change in the context of agriculture, forestry, and resource issues. It attempts to rectify the scarcity of economic analysis in global change.

Societies throughout the world depend on food, fiber and forest products. Continuity and security of agricultural and forest production are therefore of paramount importance. Predicted changes in climate could be expected to alter, perhaps significantly, the levels and relative agricultural and forestry production of different nations over the next few decades. Agriculture and forestry are also likely to influence the rate and magnitude of such change, as they can be both significant sources and sinks of a number of greenhouse gases. Adaptive management strategies therefore need to be formulated and implemented for these sectors, to enable them to both adapt to future environmental change, and to limit greenhouse gas emissions. This book arose from an international workshop held in Canberra, Australia, under the auspices of the former IPCC Working Group III - Agriculture, Forestry and Other Human Activities Sub-Group (AFOS). A number of leading speakers at the workshop were approached to encapsulate the concepts discussed and developed at this workshop. The resulting papers make up this volume. The book promotes a greater understanding of the major sources and sinks of greenhouse gases within intensive and extensive cropping and animal production systems, and of agroforestry. It highlights the need to adopt a holistic systems approach to monitoring and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and assessing impacts, and to integrate climate change-related goals and activities with other issues, such as biodiversity, desertification, and sustainable agriculture and forestry.

Roughly a billion people around the world continue to live in state of chronic hunger and food insecurity. Unfortunately, efforts to improve their livelihoods must now unfold in the context of a rapidly changing climate, in which warming temperatures and changing rainfall regimes could threaten the basic productivity of the agricultural systems on which most of the world’s poor directly depend. But whether climate change represents a minor impediment or an existential threat to development is an area of substantial controversy, with different conclusions wrought from different methodologies and based on different data. This book aims to resolve some of the controversy by exploring and comparing the different methodologies and data that scientists use to understand climate’s effects on food security. In explains the nature of the climate threat, the ways in which crops and farmers might respond, and the potential role for public and private investment to help agriculture adapt to a warmer world. This broader understanding should prove useful to both scientists charged with quantifying climate threats, and policy-makers responsible for crucial decisions about how to respond. The book is especially suitable as a companion to an interdisciplinary undergraduate or graduate level class.

Recent studies suggest that possible global increases in temperature and changes in precipitation patterns during the next century will affect world agricul-ture. Because of the ability of farmers to adapt, however, these changes are not likely to imperil world food production. Nevertheless, world production of all goods and services may decline, if climate change is severe enough or if cropland expansion is hindered. Impacts are not equally distributed around the world.