Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
A subset of the adaptation options available to adapt farming systems to
climate change
Altering inputs such as varieties/species to those with more appropriate thermal
time and vernalization requirements and/or with increased resistance to heat shock
and drought, increased responsiveness to CO2, altering fertilizer rates to maintain
grain quality consistent with the prevailing climate, altering amounts and timing of
irrigation and other water management
Wider use of technologies to 'harvest' water, conserve soil moisture (e.g. crop residue
retention) and to use and transport water more effectively where rainfall decreases
Water management to prevent water logging, erosion and nutrient leaching where
rainfall increases
Altering the timing or location of cropping activities
Diversifying income through altering the integration with other farming activities
such as livestock raising
Improving the effectiveness of pest, disease and weed management practices through
wider use of integrated pest and pathogen management, development and use of
varieties and species resistant to pests and diseases and maintaining or improving
quarantine capabilities and monitoring programs
Developing improved climate forecasting and its use to reduce production risk
Source: Stokes and Howden, 2010
outputs, or to market access or changes in consumer preferences. By contrast, this
chapter suggests, climate change has multiple, related dimensions, and many of
the possible adaptations include high degrees of uncertainty in the nature, degree
and timing of the change involved. The changes that may be needed are not
only directly associated with climate changes (and hence productivity) at local,
regional and global scales, but also occurring through the emerging low-carbon
economy and its associated shifts in input prices and potential new products such
as carbon storage, and additionally through its impacts on global food security
(Keating and Carberry, 2008). How will Australian farmers, farming systems,
cropping industries and governments adapt in the face of such uncertainty?
For the most part, adaptation research and action has been more in keeping
with the exploration of incremental options or 'adjustments' to existing farming
systems (Rickards and Howden, 2012). However, the effectiveness of such
tactical adaptation options is limited when modest changes in temperature and
rainfall are exceeded. Under a 4°C change in global temperatures, the effec-
tiveness of tactical adaptation options will likely be severely limited and will
likely require the examination of adaptation that also encompasses more radical
change: 'longer-term, deeper transformations'. This pursuit of transformation will
both be increasingly likely and desired in a Four Degree World.
A few examples of transformational adaptation in Australian agriculture
