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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Laboratory for Agriculture and The Environment » Soil, Water & Air Resources Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #319245

Title: Agroforestry, climate change, and food security

Author
item Sauer, Thomas

Submitted to: Adjacent Government UK Magazine
Publication Type: Popular Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/17/2015
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Successfully addressing global climate change effects on agriculture will require a holistic, sustained approach incorporating a suite of strategies at multiple spatial scales and time horizons. In the USA of the 1930’s, bold and innovative leadership at high levels of government was needed to enact a unique program over an extensive area to successfully address severe drought conditions. Agroforestry practices offer excellent opportunities to adapt current agricultural production systems to future climates, build more resilient agricultural systems, and also provide climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration in biomass and the soil. Agroforestry also provides multiple additional ecosystem services including enhancing wildlife habitat, improving local microclimate and esthetics, and expanding renewable energy sources. The challenge now is to engage similar decision-making methods as demonstrated by the successful PSFP of the 1930’s to craft effective policies and programs for adapting agriculture to global climate change effects and enhancing global food security.