Climate change and crop production: contributions, impacts, and adaptations

Crop production and climate change affect each other because crop production (1) produces greenhouse gases (GHGs), (2) is affected by climate change, (3) will have to adapt to changed climatic regimes, and (4) has a potential role in mitigating the production of GHGs. Agriculture is not a major producer of GHGs, at less than 10% of Canada's total. Agriculture is a major producer of methane and nitrous oxide (21 and 310 times more effective at heat trapping than CO2, respectively), but a minor producer of CO2. The impacts on agriculture will come through increased CO2 effects on plant growth, warmer and drier conditions, changes in wind speed, insect and disease pressures, and many more subtle changes resulting from altered interactions among components of crop agro-ecosystems. Predictions are for net increases in world food production as temperature increases become larger. Potential adaptations are (1) management and genetic alterations to crops, (2) legislative changes, (3) policy and economic changes, and (4) adoption of mitigation practices. Mitigation of GHG effects can be through new cropping systems and crops that reduce net GHG production by emitting less nitrous oxide, increasing soil organic matter content, and allowing production of bio-products such as bio-fuels.