Climate Change Impact and Adaptation in Agricultural Systems

The focus of this book is future global climate change and its implications for agricultural systems which are the main sources of agricultural goods and services provided to society. These systems are either based on crop or livestock production, or on combinations of the two, with characteristics that differ between regions and between levels of management intensity. In turn, they also differ in their sensitivity to projected future changes in climate, and improvements to increase climate-resilience need to be tailored to the specific needs of each system. The book will bring together a series of chapters that provide scientific insights to possible implications of projected climate changes for different important types of crop and livestock systems, and a discussion of options for adaptive and mitigative management.

Agriculture is susceptible to climate change and to ensure food, feed, and fiber production for future generations will require effective adaptation strategies. Fuhrer (Agroscope Research, Switzerland) and Gregory (Univ. of Reading, UK) have assembled an international group of authors to discuss crop and livestock production systems and their response to a changing climate and to address the limitations to adaptation practices in rain-fed and irrigated agricultural systems. A key component of this volume is the in-depth treatment of climate variation and its effect on agricultural production and the potential requirements to produce food to feed the global population. The book provides useful discussions of agroecosystems in various parts of the world (Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Americas). It also covers the requirements for land management for multiple ecosystem services-critical for linking production goals with societal goals. This volume provides a solid foundation for the discussion of climate resilience in agricultural systems and the requirements to keep improving agricultural production.
--J. L. Hatfield, USDA-Agricultural Research Service

Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, researchers/faculty, and professionals/practitioners.