Background

The different research teams supported by the “Adaptation to Climate Change in Agriculture and Forestry” (ACCAF) metaprogramme during its last call for projects (AMI2017) have presented their progress and deliverables.

Faced with a modified climate, which species and varieties will livestock farmers have to sow in their grasslands in 20 years’ time? The CLIMAGIE project has tackled this question to help steer research in plant breeding. It had two objectives: the production of animal feed of sufficient quantity and quality, and reducing environmental impacts.

The search for food security in India is based on irrigated crops. Over the past 30 years, the increase in irrigated areas has been based mainly on the development of the pumping of groundwater. But this resource is under threat since water taken for irrigation is not replaced. What will happen in an even warmer climate? The AICHA project has modelled the hydrological, economic and agronomic functioning of a watershed in order to identify the most sustainable production systems, as well as possible regulatory measures.

Climate change will have an impact not only on the quantity of agricultural products harvested, but also on their quality. And it is the latter point on which the CAQ 40 project has focused. It has been examining the consequences of an increase in the frequency of high temperatures on the taste and nutritional value of fruit and grain, the germination quality of seed, and the consequences it may have on their suitability for processing and conservation.

Faced with climate change, farmers are adapting and modifying their agricultural practices. The CLIF project has focused on the consequences of changes in temperature and rainfall on fungal diseases to ensure that these adjustments take into account climate-driven diseases. The objective is better prediction, so farmers can react quicker and better.

With climate change, there will be significant changes to the forage production used to provide daily feed for cattle and sheep. What changes will farmers have to make on their farms to maintain an economically, environmentally and socially consistent and efficient system? The FARMATCH project has focused on preparing farmers by confronting them with virtual scenarios using computer simulations.

How can we adapt forest management to climate change? The FORADAPT project has been looking at the reasons for tree decline, that is, the environmental factors which cause them to die or prevent their reproduction. The objective is to develop a strategic tool for both researchers and forest managers.

Good land use guarantees the continued provision of the services an area provides to its inhabitants. In the Avignon area, though, urbanisation threatens agricultural production. With climate change, what will happen by 2050? The VIGIE-MED project has tried to provide some answers by simulating in a future climate the impacts public decision-making on land use has on the production and regulation capacities of ecosystems..

Climate change impacts crop yields through rising temperatures, changes in precipitation, and increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. No recent synthesis has been published to provide quantitative estimates of the effects of climate change on crop yields, with or without adaptation strategies.

How can we learn about the effects of climate change on crops? The PERPHECLIM project teams answered this question by studying the phenology of perennial species as they provide genuine climatic biomarkers. An ambitious observation and experimentation network was built in this project, in order to improve our knowledge about the interactions between plants and their environment.