Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Strategies of Agriculture in Mediterranean-Climate Regions (MCRs)

Abstract

The world’s five Mediterranean-climate regions (MCRs) share unique climatic regimes of mild, wet winters and warm and dry summers. Agriculture in these regions is threatened by increases in the occurrence of drought and high temperature events associated with climate change (CC). In this review we analyze what would be the effects of CC on crops (including orchards and vineyards), how crops and cropping and farming systems could adapt to CC, and what are the social and economic impacts, as well as the strategies used by producers to adapt to CC. In rainfed areas, water deficit occurs mostly during the flowering and grain filling stages (terminal drought stress), which has large detrimental effects on the productivity of crops. Orchards and vineyards, which are mostly cultivated in irrigated areas, will also be vulnerable to water deficit due to a reduction in water available for irrigation and an increase in evapotranspiration. Adaptation of agriculture to CC in MCRs requires integrated strategies that encompass different levels of organization: the crop (including orchards and vineyards), the cropping system (sequence of crops and management techniques used on a particular agricultural field) and the farming system, which includes the farmer.

Bioclimatology, Structure, and Conservation Perspectives of Quercus pyrenaica, Acer opalus subsp. Granatensis, and Corylus avellana Deciduous Forests on Mediterranean Bioclimate in the South-Central Part of the Iberian Peninsula

“…These species have their optimum in colder regions with mild summers and therefore with lower summer evapotranspiration (PEs) and annual evapotranspiration (PE) values [71]. This can be seen in the correlation coefficients between the abovementioned species and the bioclimatic variables PEs and PE in places or microclimates where the abundance or presence of these mesophytic species (which, for the most part, are part of E3), declines when the values of PEs and PE increase, either due to high temperatures [72] or to gaps in the vegetation [20,21]. Table 5 also shows that these taxa have a significant positive correlation with the humidity index (IH), the annual ombrothermic index (Io) and the summer ombrothermic indices: the ombrothermic index of the warmest month in the summer quarter (Ios 1 ), the warmest two months in the summer quarter (Ios 2 ), the summer quarter (Ios 3 ), and the summer quarter plus the previous month (May in the northern hemisphere) (Ios 4 ) [73].…”

Integrated Analysis of Small RNA, Transcriptome, and Degradome Sequencing Reveals the Water-Deficit and Heat Stress Response Network in Durum Wheat

“…Durum wheat (2 n = 28, AABB, Triticum turgidum durum L.) is the most widely cultivated tetraploid and is used for its high grain quality and versatility in making products, such as pasta [ 2 , 3 ]. Durum wheat is mainly grown in semi-arid Mediterranean environments where water scarcity and high temperature often occur [ 4 , 5 ]. Improving crop resilience to water-deficit and heat stress has become a major target for breeding programs.…”

Sustainability Perspectives of Vigna unguiculata L. Walp. Cultivation under No Tillage and Water Stress Conditions

“…In addition, we indicate that cowpea is also a reliable alternative to the common Mediterranean bean (P. vulgaris) in North-African countries, especially because of high drought tolerance during the reproductive phase [41]. Therefore, combining NT through the cultivation of species and cultivars of pulses highly resistant to water stress (such as the cowpea) could support the resumption of legume cultivation in Europe and in the Mediterranean basin to deal with the ongoing claims about pulses and climate change [42].…”