Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change is a fundamental resource for primary industry professionals, land managers, policy makers, researchers and students involved in preparing Australia’s primary industries for the challenges and opportunities of climate change.
More than 30 authors have contributed to this book, which moves beyond describing the causes and consequences of climate change to providing options for people to work towards adaptation action. Climate change implications and adaptation options are given for the key Australian primary industries of horticulture, forestry, grains, rice, sugarcane, cotton, viticulture, broadacre grazing, intensive livestock industries, marine fisheries, and aquaculture and water resources. Case studies demonstrate the options for each industry.
Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change summarises updated climate change scenarios for Australia with the latest climate science. It includes chapters on socio-economic and institutional considerations for adapting to climate change, greenhouse gas emissions sources and sinks, as well as risks and priorities for the future.
Communicates up-to-date, scientifically robust information on climate change specifically for primary industries
Provides pathways to solutions rather than just defining the problem of climate change
Includes case studies for each industry
Presents a framework on which policy makers can start planning and preparing for climate change
Looks beyond the impacts of climate change to the practical actions that can be taken by Australia’s primary industries to effectively tackle the challenges of climate change and capitalise on opportunities
Covers 16 important agricultural activities in Australia
INTRODUCTION SM Howden and CJ Stokes
CLIMATE PROJECTIONS KJ Hennessy, PH Whetton and B Preston
GRAINS SM Howden, RG Gifford and H Meinke
COTTON MP Bange, GA Constable, D McRae and G Roth
RICE DS Gaydon, HG Beecher, R Reinke, S Crimp and SM Howden
SUGARCANE SE Park, S Crimp, NG Inman-Bamber and YL Everingham
WINEGRAPES L Webb, GM Dunn and EWR Barlow
HORTICULTURE L Webb and PH Whetton
FORESTRY TH Booth, MUF Kirschbaum and M Battaglia
BROADACRE GRAZING CJ Stokes, S Crimp, R Gifford, AJ Ash and SM Howden
INTENSIVE LIVESTOCK INDUSTRIES CJ Miller, SM Howden and RN Jones
WATER RESOURCES RN Jones
MARINE FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE AJ Hobday and ES Poloczanska
AGRICULTURAL GREENHOUSE GASES AND MITIGATION OPTIONS JC Carlyle, E Charmley, JA Baldock, PJ Polglase and B Keating
ENHANCING ADAPTIVE CAPACITY NA Marshall, CJ Stokes, SM Howden and RN Nelson
SUMMARY CJ Stokes and SM Howden
LOOKING FORWARD AJ Ash, CJ Stokes and SM Howden
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS CJ Stokes and SM Howden
INDEX
View a sample including the Table of Contents and list of contributors from Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change.
Primary producers
Producers’ groups and industry peak bodies
Research agencies
Tertiary education professionals and students in science, natural resource management, ecology, agricultural science, climatology, forestry and viticulture
Meteorologists
Business, finance and transport sectors
"This book is a blueprint to help progress action for what will be a long journey, as support is gathered to apply its practical recommendations in a participative and collaborative spirit between industry and government. Well done to the editors and authors for compiling this excellent volume. I highly recommend it to readers."
David George, Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 2011
"For anyone concerned about the future of agriculture in a changing climate, this is a must read."
Alison J Beaty, Australian Organic Producer, Spring 2011
Chris Stokes is a senior research scientist with CSIRO’s Climate Adaptation National Research Flagship. His work in OzFACE, the world’s first field CO2 experiment in the tropics, demonstrated the importance of tropical grasses to global ecosystem responses to rising atmospheric CO2 levels. This work is now being incorporated into assessments of adaptation options for the pastoral industry.
Mark Howden is a theme leader in CSIRO’s Climate Adaptation National Research Flagship with over 20 years’ experience working with farming groups on climate-related issues. He has been a major contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) series of reports and shared the 2007 Peace Prize with other IPCC participants and Al Gore.