Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on European Agriculture (CLIVAGRI)

The Action is carried out by four working groups (WGs) with different tasks: agroclimatic indices and simulation models review and assessment of tools used to relate climate with agricultural processes; evaluation of the current trends of agroclimatic indices and simulation model outputs describing agricultural impacts and hazard levels; developing and assessing future regional and local scenarios of agroclimatic conditions; risk assessment and foreseen impacts on agriculture. The activity of WGs has been structured as a sort of matrix, presenting on the rows the methods of analysis and on the columns the phenomenon and the hazards. Each intersection point describes the evaluation of past, present and future trends of climate and so the impacts on agriculture. Based on these results, possible actions (specific recommendations, suggestions, warning systems) have been elaborated and proposed to the end-users, depending on their needs. The main objective of the Action was the evaluation of possible impacts from climate change and variability on agriculture and the assessment of critical thresholds for various European areas. This goal was achieved through the accomplishment of intermediate aims, in order to define the current and future levels of critical thresholds and hazards for agricultural activity and environmental resources: -The evaluation of possible impacts from climate change and variability on agriculture and the assessment of critical thresholds for various European areas. -The collection and review of existing agroclimatic indices and simulation models to assess hazard impacts on various European agricultural areas relating hazards to climatic conditions. -Building climate scenarios for the next few decades -The definition of harmonised criteria to evaluate the impacts of climatic change and variability on agriculture -The definition of warning systems guidelines