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Biophysical impacts of climate‐smart agriculture in the M idwest U nited S tates
Author(s) -
BAGLEY JUSTIN E.,
MILLER JESSE,
BERNACCHI CARL J.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1111/pce.12485
Subject(s) - environmental science , climate change , agriculture , greenhouse gas , agroecosystem , resilience (materials science) , ecosystem , geography , ecology , physics , archaeology , biology , thermodynamics
The potential impacts of climate change in the M idwest U nited S tates present unprecedented challenges to regional agriculture. In response to these challenges, a variety of climate‐smart agricultural methodologies have been proposed to retain or improve crop yields, reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, retain soil quality and increase climate resilience of agricultural systems. One component that is commonly neglected when assessing the environmental impacts of climate‐smart agriculture is the biophysical impacts, where changes in ecosystem fluxes and storage of moisture and energy lead to perturbations in local climate and water availability. Using a combination of observational data and an agroecosystem model, a series of climate‐smart agricultural scenarios were assessed to determine the biophysical impacts these techniques have in the M idwest U nited S tates. The first scenario extended the growing season for existing crops using future temperature and CO 2 concentrations. The second scenario examined the biophysical impacts of no‐till agriculture and the impacts of annually retaining crop debris. Finally, the third scenario evaluated the potential impacts that the adoption of perennial cultivars had on biophysical quantities. Each of these scenarios was found to have significant biophysical impacts. However, the timing and magnitude of the biophysical impacts differed between scenarios.