Mediterranean Olive Orchards under Climate Change: A Review of Future Impacts and Adaptation Strategies

Abstract

The olive tree (Olea europaea L.) is an ancient traditional crop in the Mediterranean Basin. In the Mediterranean region, traditional olive orchards are distinguishable by their prevailing climatic conditions. Olive trees are indeed considered one of the most suitable and best-adapted species to the Mediterranean-type climate. However, new challenges are predicted to arise from climate change, threatening this traditional crop. The Mediterranean Basin is considered a climate change “hotspot,” as future projections hint at considerable warming and drying trends. Changes in olive tree suitability have already been reported over the last few decades. In this context, climate change may become particularly challenging for olive growers. The growing evidence for significant climate change in the upcoming decades urges adaptation measures to be taken. To effectively cope with the projected changes, both short and long-term adaptation strategies must be timely planned by the sector stakeholders and decision-makers to adapt for a warmer and dryer future. The current manuscript is devoted to illustrating the main impacts of climate change on olive tree cultivation in the Mediterranean Basin, by reviewing the most recent studies on this subject. Additionally, an analysis of possible adaptation strategies against the potentially negative impacts of climate change was also performed.

Climate Change Projections of Aridity Conditions in the Iberian Peninsula

“…Furthermore, recent studies also project an increase of intermediate to severe dry events until 2070, mainly under RCP8.5 and in the southern region of the IP [62]. These climatic changes will have deep impacts on agriculture [63], such as in Mediterranean olive orchards [64,65], in wheat yield [66] and viticulture [67,68], among other crops.…”

LCA-Based Environmental Performance of Olive Cultivation in Northwestern Greece: From Rainfed to Irrigated through Conventional and Smart Crop Management Practices

“…The plain of Arta (Figure 1) is located in the northwestern part of Greece, in the Region of Epirus, and has a total area of about 45,000 ha [5]. The climate of Arta's plain is of Mediterranean type, characterized by hot summers and rainy moderate winters.…”

“…Plant The prevailing crops in the plain consist of citrus, olive, and kiwifruit trees, along with some arable crops. Olive is one of the most important crops in terms of surface area at a regional level, with about 5500 ha of cultivated land, of which 30% is irrigated [5]. The area of table olive groves that are registered for Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies occupy almost 3200 ha [31].…”

“…Although the olive tree is a well-adapted species to the Mediterranean-type climate, new challenges are predicted to arise from climate change, threatening this traditional crop [5]. In the future, in some Mediterranean areas including Greece, rainfed cultivation could not be economically feasible and wherever water is available, it would be replaced by irrigated olive cultivation [6].…”

Tendências de mudança na precipitação e na susceptibilidade à seca avaliada pelo Índice de Precipitação Normalizada (SPI) no nordeste de Portugal

“…Variability of weather conditions increased in recent years, and if this trend persists in the near future, higher frequency and severity of extreme events are expected, namely an extension of drought periods. Apart from the global scale evidence, for mainland Portugal the scenario of widened precipitation extremes also applies (SIAM2, 2006;Costa et al, 2012;APA, 2015;EEA, 2021;Fraga et al, 2017;Fraga et al, 2021).…”