Crops & Livestock are Being Impacted by Climate Change
Crops and livestock are being impacted by climate change, increasing temperatures, extreme weather events, and declining biodiversity.
Climate Change Impacts on Grain and Oil Crop Production
Yields of wheat, corn, and soybeans are projected to decrease as temperatures increase above crop specific temperatures.
Extreme weather events are increasing and further impacting future yields.
Pests and diseases are projected to increase as temperatures increase, yet further impacting future yields.
For additional information on crop yield, please refer to AgMIP.
For more information, please refer to Education.
Climate Change Impacts on Vegetable Production
Vegetable production is being impacted by climate change
Tomato production is decreasing in areas that are too hot.
Dry beans such as dry peas, lentils, and chic peas are grown in cooler areas
Coffee growing areas are changing to higher elevations where temperatures are cooler.
Climate Change Impacts on Fruit Production
Specific high production grape production areas are changing as temperatures increase.
Climate Change Impacts on Livestock Production
Livestock production is being impacted by heat stress and extreme weather events.
References
Examples of major global crop specific yield impacts include:
- (WHEAT) global wheat production estimated to fall by 6% for each °C of further temperature increase and become more variable over space and time[i]
- (CORN) using an ensemble of 23 crop simulation models at four locations – representing a wide range of maize production conditions in the world – the maize models (refer to Appendix F) used in the simulations agreed on yield decline with increasing temperature above ambient…yield decline was mostly attributed to reduction in crop life cycle[ii]
- (SOYBEANS) yield gaps based on crop simulation models for different regions in Brazil – an important global soybean producer – ranged from 500 to 1,050 to 1,600 kg/ha. These gaps reported to be caused by water deficit and crop management factors[iii].
[i] Asseng, S. et al. (2015). Rising temperatures reduce global wheat production. Nature Climate Change 5, 143–147. Retrieved from <http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2470>.
[ii] Bassu, S et al. (2014-07). How do various maize crop models vary in their responses to climate change factors? Global Change Biology. 20(7), 2301–2320. Retrieved from <http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12520>.
[iii] Sentelhas, P.C. et al. (2015-03-09). The soybean yield gap in Brazil – magnitude, causes and possible solutions for sustainable production. Journal of Agricultural Science, 1-18. Retrieved from <http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0021859615000313>.
- Last Modified: May 17, 2024