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How can agricultural, forestry and natural systems be made less vulnerable and/or more resilient in a context of increased hazards? What tools are needed to support public or private strategies for adaptation to climate change? As part of the call for expressions of interest, the ACCAF meta-programme supported nine multidisciplinary projects of different types (exploratory or in-depth, academic or participatory) and positioned at different levels (plant, value chain, territory, etc.).

Some of these projects have raised new issues, with encouraging results. For example, the case study conducted on black poplar (PopMicroClim project) shows that the root microbiome could improve the resistance of trees to climate change. These projects have also made it possible to put forward new models and methods for research. Statistical multivariate correction methods (MCM) have recently been developed and applied to improve fine-resolution models representing future climate conditions and to better understand the effect of climate change on agricultural production, by avoiding the repercussion of biases in the model chain (COMPROMISE project).

Better understanding the impact of climate-related stresses to develop adaptation strategies

How do plants, animals and agro- or eco-systems in general react to climate change? What impact, whether positive or negative, does this have on human activities, and how can we adapt? What if the repetition of extreme climate events could generate a beneficial memory effect, thus allowing plants and their offspring to acclimatise (MemoStress project)? The projects supported by the metaprogramme can lead to a diversity of results and original deliverables, such as this serious game used to encourage the collaboration of local stakeholders in the face of tick-borne threats (CLIMATICK project). Or the plant hydraulics model, which makes it possible to predict the desiccation and mortality of tree or shrub foliage under drought conditions and, thus, to assess the effects of water content on fire hazards. The research teams were able to conclude that fire activity in south-eastern France is indeed correlated with foliage water content, whose summer variations considerably affect the spread of fire (Drought&Fire project).

Building new systems with stakeholders

In order to respond to the difficulties posed by climate change (extreme hazards, availability of water resources, etc.), it is necessary to develop new agricultural systems that are adapted to a changing climate, that are economically competitive, environmentally sustainable and socially just. By bringing together a variety of stakeholders and complementary methodologies, it has been possible to co-design a range of maize cropping systems that integrate agroecological practices, and to highlight their promising performance (VACCARM project). The impact of these projects is important for the stakeholders in the sector, as they promote awareness and the development of new strategies, as well as provide references for adaptation. In the French wine sector, research has enabled the development of a process for designing/evaluating options on a local scale, and the construction of a national strategy for adaptation to climate change based on foresight exercises (LACCAVE 2.21 project).

Taking a systemic approach to the issues raised by climate change

The field crop sectors are considering future strategic adaptations to climate change in order to limit or avoid abiotic stresses (mainly thermal and water stresses). Biotic stresses, on the other hand, are a tactical matter. It is therefore useful to better anticipate climate-related plant diseases by developing, for instance, an international community of scientists to deal with disease emergence in wheat (Educ.Net network). Taking crop diseases into account in the simulation and assessment of adaptation strategies is another avenue. Thanks to the co-development of a multi-criteria tree with stakeholders in the wheat and sunflower sectors, it is now possible to define expected future performance in terms of production, plant health and environmental preservation (OPERATE project).

9 ACCAF projects - AMI 2017

^* Some projects have been extended due to the COVID-19 crisis in 2020 and 2021

 More information : https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/CLIMAE/