Award details

FACCE ERA-NET+ Climate Change Adaptability of cropping and Farming systems for Europe (Climate-CAFÉ)

Reference	BB/M018148/1
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Christine Watson
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Professor Bob Rees, Dr Kairsty Topp
Institution	SRUC
Department	Research
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	259,543
Status	Completed
Type	Research Grant
Start date	06/01/2015
End date	05/01/2018
Duration	36 months

Abstract

Climate-CAFE will focus on increasing the "adaptive capacity" to climate change (CC) and variability of EU arable and forage crops. We will propose and evaluate a wide range of adapted high-performance strategies for EU areas with different climatic threats to re-design farming systems for adaptation to CC. The evaluation will reveal synergies and trade-offs between adaptation and mitigation at different scales for IPCC scenarios in 2050 and 2100. The project will also includes the assessment of adaptation strategies based on multi-criteria economic and environmental analyses at the farm and supra-farm level by taking into account regional agri-food chain and pedo-climatic constraints. We aim to design adaptation measures in order to achieve multiple system level benefits, by bringing together farmers, advisors and different scientific disciplines in order to allow mutual learning and to profit from a wide range of knowledge. Adapted measures will be evaluated at all relevant scales by synthesis the state-of-the-art and using i) soilcrop models at the field and plot scale, and ii) farm models at the regional scale. At the cropping system level, the STICS soil-crop model will be used and implemented on the RECORD modelling and software platform in order to make numerous simulations for testing the potential efficiency of proposed adaptation measures. In addition, the DAYCENT soil model will be used in order to evaluate ex-ante effects of CC adaptation on long term soil C sequestration and GHG emissions. The farm and supra-farm level modelling will elucidate trade-offs between key indicators of CC adaptation. With the help of the supra farm approach we will show how cooperative behavior between farmers may contribute to resource efficiency and the resilience of existing production structures.

Summary

The Climate-CAFE project focuses on increasing the "adaptive capacity" of arable and forage crops to climate change (CC). We will use an interdisciplinary approach to evaluate traditional and more novel regional adaptation and mitigation strategies along a North-South climate gradient in the EU and propose new farming system designs for adaptation to CC. The evaluation includes synergies and trade-offs between strategies using different scales and indicators for IPCC scenarios in 2050 and 2100. Synthesis of existing data from experimentation and expert knowledge (advisors and farmers) will be used to propose adaptation measures for a selection of Adaptation Pilots based on representative regional cropping and farming systems located in consortium countries. These pilots will be defined and used to design and evaluate adaptation strategies based on multicriteria economic and environmental analyses. The proposed adaptation strategies will focus on improved soil and water management via ecological intensification, including new cultivars, novel rotations, alternative tillage options, and the inclusion of legumes and intercrops, to enhance the buffering capacity of the soil-crop system and capitalize on emerging value chains in the bio-economy. The STICS and DAYCENT models will be used to simulate scenarios at the cropping system level (plot scale and rotation duration). Existing long-term experiments, including FACE and Ecotron specific experiments will be used for analyzing the quality of predictions and where necessarymodels will be improved to accommodate new processes (e.g. introduction of O3 effects in STICS). Over the short / medium term, the STICS soil-crop model will be run on the RECORD modelling and software platform to make multiple simulations for testing the potential efficiency of proposed CC adaptation measures for maintaining crop production without degrading environmental impacts. In addition, the DAYCENT soil model will be used to evaluate the long-term impact of adaptation measures on soil carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions (CO2, N2O, and CH4). The Modam and Farm-design models will be used to assess the impact of CC adaptation measures on the farms' economic and environmental performances. In addition, the Farm-design model will be applied to evaluate these outcomes at the supra-farm level, considering the regional constraints of agri-food chain organization and pedoclimatic conditions. The expected results of the Climate-CAFE project are: i) an overview of potential CC adaptation measures in accordance with farm constraints, ii) simulation of adaptation measures and their ranking in terms of efficiency and costs, iii) simulation of the impact of IPCC scenarios 2050 and 2100 in interaction with adaptation measures on European agriculture production, considering a wide range of EU countries representing a North-South climate gradient in Europe.

Impact Summary

Climate CAFE project will impact on the agri-food and land-use sectors, conservation bodies, the water industry and the scientific community. Research undertaken within this project will allow the development of evidence-based policies and societal benefits at the European and National levels through the promotion of improved understanding of the links between agriculture and our changing environment. The following societal benefits will be supported: * Increased resilience of farming systems in the face of CC * Reduced GHG emissions * Soil protection and improvement * More efficient use of nutrients (including manufactured fertilisers and on- and off-farm organic resources) * Greater diversity in cropping systems * Continental and global food security * Improved water use efficiency and the improvement of ground and surface water quality * Protection of non-farmed habitats. The impact of Climate CAFE will depend on credibility of research results, saliency for the stakeholders and legitimacy of intervention of the project in the CC adaptation debate. Credibility Climate CAFE will: * Result in novel understanding of options for adaptation of EU agriculture to CC and consequences of the agricultural impact on mitigation of CC by pulling together a wealth of long-term field experiments and state-of-the-art models. * Reduce uncertainty in estimation of GHG emissions and C sequestration from cropping systems as a result of improved and enhanced soil crop models. * Result in a first evaluation of the effectiveness of innovative CC adaptation in terms of production, food security and environmental impacts based on Adaptation Pilots and long-term cropping system trials across a European climate gradient. Saliency Climate CAFE will: * Translate the generic knowledge on bio-technical effectiveness of CC adaptation to locally relevant options by working with stakeholders through effective knowledge exchange pathways including the use of models in scenario evaluation, hencemaximizing their capacity to strategically manage climate risk. The direct involvement with the stakeholder community in working with and modifying participatory tools will help land managers/farmers to improve their understanding of published projections of CC. In other words it will help to increase the saliency of CC projections. * Produce new and salient information for use in National and European policy communities for an efficient CAP greening based on multi-criteria goals (socio-economic, environmental and energy efficiency). Saliency will be ensured by active interaction in the public debate and policy fora through a dedicated work package and through the partners of the consortium which are member of such European and national fora. Information and tools that are built with farm advisors will ensure a salient legacy from the project for advisory services. Legitimacy * Through a dedicated work package on communication and dissemination, Climate CAFE will make itself known as a partner in the public debate based on informed knowledge of CC and adaptation options at cropping system and farming system levels. We will make appropriate efforts to interact with policy-makers in the EU and national parliaments through briefings and dialogue. Adaptation Pilots will ensure local presence of the project and involvement in local strategic CC adaptation debates, thus strengthening the role of scientific results in regulatory and voluntary measures.

Committee	Not funded via Committee
Research Topics	Crop Science, Plant Science, Soil Science
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	ERA-NET on Climate Smart Agriculture (FACCE ERA-NET-plus) [2014]
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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