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.

Ixodes ricinus, the vector of Lyme disease, and Hyalomma marginatum, the vector of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus, represent a threat to human health. Living mainly outdoors, they are subject to weather conditions. Through an approach combining observations, experiments, modelling and social sciences, the CLIMATICK project studied the distribution and dynamics of these ticks, under current and future climates, and provided initial tools for the co-construction of prevention and/or adaptation strategies.

Adapting crop management strategies is necessary to ensure the sustainability of agriculture in the face of climate change. A methodology was developed in the OPERATE project to identify and compare the most promising adaptation strategies considering biotic and abiotic stresses. For wheat, sunflower and potato crops, pre-selected strategies have been evaluated with respect to production, plant health and environmental criteria. A dedicated data stream, combining STICS or SUNFLO crop models, robust epidemiological models and multi-criteria analysis, was constructed and implemented, and tested for wheat and sunflower production. With a very flexible construction, this methodology can incorporate different weightings of the criteria to be used in exchanges with stakeholders.

The LACCAVE 2.21 project has developed a scientific network and interdisciplinary research on climate change adaptation strategies in the French vine and wine sector. Systemic and participatory approaches are favoured. Ten seminars and numerous scientific and technical publications cover different areas and scales of adaptation. Two operations are highlighted: a thesis proposing an approach to the design/evaluation of options at the local level and the construction of a national strategy based on foresight.

Higher temperatures and increasingly scarce water resources will modify the way vines function and the composition of their grapes, with subsequent effects on every stage of the winemaking process and in the creation of a balanced final product. So how do you prepare a whole industry, from producer to consumer, for the consequences of global warming? The LACCAVE project has responded with a multidisciplinary approach to adaptation issues.

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.

The PopMicroClim project, funded by INRAE, aims to explore whether the tree root microbiome can be used to improve tree resistance to climate change and to identify the microorganisms involved in improving this trait. If so, the results could be used to try to design microbial inocula that could improve the resistance of seedlings and trees to climate change

Drought&Fire aims to gain a better understanding of the determinants and physiological processes of foliage water content dynamics in vegetation under drought conditions, to build a model of these processes and to assess the effects of water content on fire risk. In particular, the project developed the SUREAU-ECOS plant hydraulics model, which predicts desiccation and mortality of tree and shrub foliage under drought conditions. Fire activity in south-eastern France is well correlated with the water content of the foliage, whose summer variations considerably affect fire propagation

Extreme climatic events pose a challenge to the agriculture of tomorrow. However, their repetition can generate a beneficial memory effect allowing plants and their offspring to acclimatise.