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Proactive disclosure Print version ![]() ![]() | ![]() | ![]() Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation: A Canadian Perspective Knowledge Gaps and Research Needs
Although understanding of the potential impacts of climate change on Canadian agriculture has improved, a number of key knowledge gaps, particularly with respect to the process of agricultural adaptation, need to be addressed in order to fully assess vulnerability. As with other sectors, emphasis has been placed predominantly on the biophysical impacts of climate change, with less attention given to socio-economic impacts. Research on climate change impacts and adaptation in the food-processing sector is also sparse. There is a need for more integrated costing studies, which consider all potential impacts of climate change on the sector, as well as adaptation options. Such information is necessary not only for domestic issues, but also to assess comparative advantages within global agricultural commodity markets. Comparisons between studies and regions will be assisted by more standardized use of climate change scenarios and crop production models. Research is also needed to determine what barriers exist to adaptation in the agriculture sector and how these can be addressed. Increased use of new methodologies for assessing vulnerability would help to address these gaps. Another important focus for agricultural research is the identification of thresholds. The agriculture sector has proven itself to be highly adaptive, but this adaptation takes place within a certain range of climate conditions. New adaptive measures may serve to expand this range somewhat, but there exist climatic thresholds beyond which activities are not economically viable and substantive changes in practices would be required. An improved understanding of where these critical thresholds lie will contribute to the development of appropriate adaptation strategies. Needs with respect to primary agricultural production, as identified within the recent literature cited in this chapter, include the following: Impacts
Adaptation
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