CiXPAG - Interaction of Climate Extremes, Air Pollution and Agro-ecosystems
Future food production, and consequently food security, is very sensitive to both climate change and air pollution. So far, little is known about how climate extremes and ozone pollution interact to affect agriculture or about the relative effectiveness of climate change adaptation and ozone regulation measures for various crops and regions.
Prosjektfakta
In the CiXPAG project, we will investigate the complex interactions between climate extremes, air pollution and agricultural ecosystems. We will use global and regional climate model simulations in combination with statistical downscaling approaches to provide better information on climate extremes and their changes relevant to agriculture. We will develop a flux-based approach in ozone chemistry models, and a novel, more consistent approach to include the ozone effect in statistical crop growth models. This will increase our understanding of the interplay of environmental factors, such as downscaled climate information and air pollution, on agricultural ecosystems. The development of these models will be informed by field experiments describing the effect of climate and ozone on selected crops. The modelling results will be embedded in the particular socio-economic and political context of the study region (Indo-Gangetic-Plain, India). This region contributes substantially to regional and global food supply, but is severely threatened by climate extremes and air pollution. A contextualised understanding of potential responses will be jointly developed by farmers, researchers and policymakers to support effective climate change adaptation and air pollution regulation measures in the region. Knowledge generated in the CiXPAG project will also be relevant for other significant food producing and exporting countries and regions (e.g. Europe, Brazil).
