Location: Sustainable Agricultural Water Systems Research
Project Number: 2032-12610-002-008-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: May 3, 2021
End Date: Sep 30, 2022
Objective:
The overall goal of this proposal is to regionally ‘downscale’ the USDA climate indicators for agriculture for economically important crops and cropping systems in California. This goal will be achieved through the successful completion of the following objectives: (1) Survey and summarize the literature (peer reviewed papers, technical reports, and gray literature) on climate impacts to economically important cropping systems in California. (2) Categorically assign assessed climate impacts in the review to the climate indicators as outlined in the USDA climate indicators report for agriculture. (3) Develop electronic factsheets/webpages relating specific California crops (e.g., winegrapes, tomatoes) or cropping systems (e.g., perennial nut crops, citrus) to climate indicators on the Cal AgroClimate and USDA Climate Hub websites currently in development.
Approach:
We propose to survey the peer reviewed literature and catalog specific examples where climate change indicators were reported. In this effort we will identify and detail the production system in question (e.g., almonds, cherries), which indicator(s) were noted causing damage or losses (e.g., heat waves), and the nature and degree of the impact(s) (e.g., production losses and economic impacts). The anticipated intermediate product will be a digital database. These data will then be summarized categorically by agricultural system(s) and agricultural production regions. We will craft fact sheets geared for the technical assistance community. In the longer term, beyond the scope of the initial project described here, there is potential for these digital products to be integrated in an interactive way with Cal AgroClimate tools. Ultimately, these systematic reviews will be used to inform and prioritize Hub efforts, and can be shared with our partner agencies and stakeholders for supporting their work with clients on issues related to climate change impacts. Note: prior to developing our work plan we will engage with authors of the USDA Climate Indicators for Agriculture report to help refine or better frame our proposed approach.
