Climate change: A call for adaptation and mitigation strategies

Abstract

Projected climate change is expected to substantially affect crop and livestock production, and water availability and quality. Concomitantly, the agricultural community is faced with a challenge of increasing food production by more than 70% to meet demand from global population increase by the mid-21st century. This article introduces a Special Collection on Climate Change and reviews principal findings from nine articles drawn from papers presented at the 2015 ASABE 1st Climate Change-Adaptation and Mitigation Symposium. Studies present simulations of crop and livestock production-system adaptations to climate change scenarios; impacts of climate change scenarios on water resources, soil erosion and nonpoint-source pollutant source areas; regional assessment of climatic shifts; and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from livestock production. Articles span regional issues across the U.S., southern Asia, and Brazil. These research articles clearly indicate that climate variability and change can negatively impact food production and water resources, and that innovative strategies are needed to mitigate those negative impacts.