ABSTRACT
According the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate change is defined as “any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activities” (IPCC 2007). The standard period over which climate-related variables (e.g., temperature, precipitation, and wind) are observed is 30 years. Because of agroecosystems’ inherent vulnerability to changes in weather patterns, climate change can have profound effects on these systems. While some effects of climate change may have positive implications in some regions and agricultural sectors, it is estimated that climate change will have a progressively negative net impact on global agriculture between now and the end of the century (Hatfield and Takle 2014; Went 1957). These impacts will likely challenge farmer livelihoods, rural agricultural communities, and global food security. In this chapter, we summarize the driving causes of climate change, as well as the effects that climate change currently has and will continue to have on cropping systems, socioeconomic factors, and agriculture and biodiversity in agroecosystems. We also discuss some climate change adaptation strategies relevant to agroecosystems including conservation practices, support for biodiversity, tools and technology development, and policies and programs used to mitigate climate risk. We will end 2with a review of agroecological resilience to climate change and propose some future research priorities to enable greater agroecosystem resilience in the future.
