Increasing Climate Variability And Change

by Salinger, James; Sivakumar, M. V. K.; Motha, Raymond P.

• ISBN13: 9781402033544
• ISBN10: 1402033540
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-01-30
• Publisher: Kluwer Academic Pub

Summary

One of the major challenges facing humankind is to provide an equitable standard of living for this and future generations: adequate food, water and energy, safe shelter and a healthy environment. Human-induced climate change, and increasing climate variability, as well as other global environmental issues such as land degradation and loss of biological diversity, threaten our ability to meet these basic human needs. It is undisputed that the last two decades have been the warmest this century, and likely to be the warmest for the last 1000 years, sea level is rising, rain and snowfall patterns are changing. Arctic sea ice is thinning and the frequency and intensity of El-Niño events appear to be increasing. In addition, the frequency of extreme events is rising and many parts of the world have recently suffered major heat-waves, floods and droughts leading to significant loss of life and economic costs. This requires the global community to give urgent attention to addressing key issues. The range of adaptation options for agriculture and forestry is generally increasing because of technological advances, thus reducing the vulnerability of these systems to climate change. However, some regions of the world, particularly developing countries, have limited access to these technologies. Agriculture and forestry are currently not optimally managed with respect to today's natural climate variability. Decreasing the vulnerability of agriculture and forestry to increasing climatic variability will go a long way towards reducing the long-term vulnerability to climate change. This book represents a major step in assessing the science of climate variability and change, and their likely impacts on agriculture and forestry, with clear adaptation strategies required to reduce their vulnerability.

Author Biography

Jim Salinger is a senior climate researcher. As a leading climate change expert, he has been involved in researching and monitoring past and current climate trends, as a university climate researcher, and later in the former New Zealand Meteorological Service. Shiv Sivakumar is a senior scientist at the World Meteorological Organisation.  Raymond Motha is Chief Meteorologist of The World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB).

Table of Contents

M. JAMES SALINGER
Increasing Climate Variability and Change: Reducing the Vulnerability. Guest Editorial	1	(4)
M. JARRAUD
Foreword	5	(4)
M. JAMES SALINGER
Climate Variability and Change: Past, Present and Future – An Overview	9	(22)
M.V.K. SIVAKUMAR, H.P. DAS and O. BRUNINI
Impacts of Present and Future Climate Variability and Change on Agriculture and Forestry in the Arid and Semi-Arid Tropics	31	(42)
YANXIA ZHAO, CHUNYI WANG, SHILI WANG and LOURDES V. TIBIG
Impacts of Present and Future Climate Variability on Agriculture and Forestry in the Humid and Sub-Humid Tropics	73	(44)
GIANPIERO MARACCHI, OLEG SIROTENKO and MARCO BINDI
Impacts of Present and Future Climate Variability on Agriculture and Forestry in the Temperate Regions: Europe	117	(20)
RAYMOND P. MOTHA and WOLFGANG BAIER
Impacts of Present and Future Climate Change and Climate Variability on Agriculture in the Temperate Regions: North America	137	(28)
WILLIAM EASTERLING and MICHAEL APPS
Assessing the Consequences of Climate Change for Food and Forest Resources: A View from the IPCC	165	(26)
IAN BURTON and BO LIM
Achieving Adequate Adaptation in Agriculture	191	(10)
MIKE HARRISON
The Development of Seasonal and Inter-Annual Climate Forecasting	201	(20)
HOLGER MEINKE and ROGER C. STONE
Seasonal and Inter-Annual Climate Forecasting: The New Tool for Increasing Preparedness to Climate Variability and Change in Agricultural Planning and Operations	221	(34)
C.J. STIGTER, ZHENG DAWEI, L.O.Z. ONYEWOTU and MEI XURONG
Using Traditional Methods and Indigenous Technologies for Coping with Climate Variability	255	(18)
DON C. MACIVER and ELAINE WHEATON
Tomorrow's Forests: Adapting to a Changing Climate	273	(10)
R.L. DESJARDINS, W. SMITH, B. GRANT, C. CAMPBELL and R. RIZNEK
Management Strategies to Sequester Carbon in Agricultural Soils and to Mitigate Greenhouse Gas Emissions	283	(16)
MOHAMMED BOULAHYA, MACOL STEWART CERDA, MARION PRATT and KELLY SPONBERG
Climate, Communications, and Innovative Technologies: Potential Impacts and Sustainability of New Radio and Internet Linkages in Rural African Communities	299	(12)
SUE WALKER
Role of Education and Training in Agricultural Meteorology to Reduce Vulnerability to Climate Variability	311	(8)
VICTORINE PERARNAUD, BERNARD SEGUIN, ERIC MALEZIEUX, MICHEL DEQUE and DENIS LOUSTAU
Agrometeorological Research and Applications Needed to Prepare Agriculture and Forestry to 21st Century Climate Change	319	(22)
M.J. SALINGER, M.V.K. SIVAKUMAR and R. MOTHA
Reducing Vulnerability of Agriculture and Forestry to Climate Variability and Change: Workshop Summary and Recommendations	341