Climate Change and Chances for the Cultivation of New Crops

Abstract

Climate change is one of the greatest environmental, economic and social challenges in the history of mankind and nowadays is considered as the biggest environmental problem of the world. Climate change has a significant global impact and therefore Greece has to deal with its effects as well. Agriculture has been unfavourably affected in recent years, as the current and anticipated conditions in many cases seem to be rather prohibitive for the prosperity of the cultivated crops. On the contrary, these new conditions have made it possible for new plant species previously cultivated only in subtropical regions, to thrive in Greece. Moreover, economic reasons would make it rather necessary for the agricultural industry to cultivate alternative crops, which are thoroughly analysed in the present study. Based on Heating Degree Days (HDD) Greece is divided into four climatic zones. The variations in the mean maximum, mean minimum and mean temperature in each climate zone as well as the rainfall over the last 50 years (from 1964 to 2013) are reviewed in this paper. The outcome of this research is that it is not feasible for the studied alternative crops to thrive in all climate zones or vice versa. However, some of them and particularly crops such as quinoa, maca, psyllium, chia, cassava and pecan can be cultivated in all climate zones. It has also to be noted that adequate water is necessary for almost all the examined crops in order to achieve optimal growth and yield and therefore irrigations are rather necessary for specific species and climate zones.

The Role of the Start-Up Aid for Young Farmers in the Adoption of Innovative Agricultural Activities: The Case of Aloe Vera

“…At the same time, the effects of climate change are already visible around the world and natural resources are under threat. As agriculture is responsible for the consumption of 80% of the water resources, alternative crops which are less demanding for irrigation water are more desirable [37].…”

Effect of Water Stress during Grain Filling on Yield, Quality and Physiological Traits of Illpa and Rainbow Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) Cultivars

“…In the context of climate change, predictions foresee that precipitation will decline and drought periods will extend [6], with a strong impact on agriculture. The search for new tolerant crops to face these adverse conditions is thus important to generate adaptation strategies in agriculture [7]. Breeding programs should be based on analyses of crop physiological and agronomical characteristics to develop desirable cultivars of quinoa adapted to different environmental conditions [8].…”

Organic Agriculture and Innovative Crops under Mediterranean Conditions

“…The future climate change scenarios prognosticate drier and warmer conditions in the Mediterranean region, including southern Europe, as a result of global warming (IPCC, 2007). A mean temperature rise is predicted with values ranging from 2-4 °C (Georgakopoulos et al, 2016). Moreover, specific forecasting models show that rainfall during the winter will be increased in central and eastern Spain and the northern part of Italy, while in southern Mediterranean countries the rainfall will be decreased by 10-15% until the year 2050 (Ragab and Prudhomme, 2002).…”

“…Areas of South-East Europe and Mediterranean basin are expected to be among the most vulnerable countries to climate change. As a result of climate change, new species and crops have been introduced and may be introduced in the coming years (Georgakopoulos et al, 2016).…”