Scenario of Crop Production in Temperate and Cold Arid Region with Respect to Climate Change

Abstract

Agriculture and forestry will be particularly sensitive to changes in mean climate and climate variability. Climate change will definitely impact agriculture and agricultural productivity especially with the introduction of new crop species and varieties, higher crop production and expansion of suitable areas for crop cultivation. However this may be accompanied by a rise in need for plant protection, risk of nutrient leaching and accelerated breakdown of soil organic matter. The rise in carbon-dioxide level may result in increased water use efficiency, which will recompense for some of the adverse effects of increasing water constraint and extreme weather events. This on the other hand will also lead to low harvest yields, higher variation in yield and reduction in areas suitable for growing traditional crops. In Kashmir Valley, the increased precipitation is expected to be large enough to compensate for the increased evapotranspiration. On the other hand, increased precipitation, cloudiness and rain days and the reduced duration of snow cover and soil frost may negatively affect the agricultural production.