PCIC science brief: Climate impacts on specialty fruit and grazing in the Pacific Northwest
Date
2018-03
Authors
Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC)
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC)
Abstract
Two recent articles in the journal Climatic Change examine some of the effects that climate change may have on agriculture in the Pacific Northwest. Focusing on specialty fruit production, Houston et al. (2018) find that overall warmer conditions and reduced water availability may reduce net returns on crops due to increasing farming costs, affecting yields and altering product quality. They suggest that management strategies currently employed in marginal production areas that moderate temperatures and offset mismatches between the needs of the plant at various growth stages and seasonal weather conditions may be useful adaptation strategies. Neibergs and colleagues (2018) review the impacts of climate change on beef cattle production. They find that changes to seasonal temperature and precipitation may affect the availability of the plants on which cattle forage. This in turn could affect the number of cattle that an area can support, and the dates at which cattle are "turned-out" to pasture and taken in from pasture.
Description
Keywords
UN SDG 13: Climate Action, #science brief, Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC)