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Climate change threatens sugar bush The Star | by Cameron Smith | April 29, 2006 Preliminary research shows that within 20 years, not much of a maple sugar industry will be left in the US. In Canada, the industry will remain viable during those 20 years, but over 90 years the range for sugar maple trees will shift northward by up to two degrees latitude - that's the equivalent of shifting north from Sherbrooke to Trois Rivieres in Quebec, or from Brockville to Arnprior in Ontario. now, this can be read as a climate change horror story or as an early warning to start preparations for adapting to change. The history of the world is a history of change and adaptation. One of the major recommendations in the study is that more research be undertaken right away, which makes sense because trees need to be 40 to 50 years old before tapping can begin - so the 90-year time span for the northward shifting shrinks very close to the present as far as preparations are concerned. Canola hates starting cold Western Producer | Michael Raine | April 27, 2006 Cold is OK for delivering revenge and great for beer. But it's bad for soil temperature when it comes to planting canola. Producers should avoid cold soils wherever possible, said David Blais of the Canola Council of Canada. Germination prospects dismal this year Western Producer | Mary MacArthur | April 27, 2006 When Balzac, Alta., seed cleaning manager Joe Walisser sent a sample of oats to a lab to be tested, he knew it might not come back with ideal germination. He was shocked when only 15 percent of the sample germinated. "The grain won't germinate up," said Walisser. "A lot of guys are going to two-year-old stuff because they can't get last year's to germinate." In a normal year the majority of seed will have 90 to 100 percent germination. This year, a lot of seed germination has dropped to 80 to 90 percent. It's not unusual for some of the grain to come back at 30 to 40 percent. Seeding will be limited in flooded areas Western Producer | Karen Morrison | April 27, 2006 The river systems and creeks are receding, uncovering eroded banks, saturated fields and damaged roads in northeastern Saskatchewan. The 1.5 metres of snow that fell this winter melted quickly, flooding fields and farmyards. Farmers want the province to declare the farmland a disaster area to allow producers to apply for disaster assistance funds. Farmers need the commitment of money now to help them plan their growing year and meet with banks to extend credit or renegotiate loans. U of S 'super gene' discovery holds promise of hardier crops: Plants tolerate temperature extremes better, grow faster Agnet | by Janet French | April 27, 2006 A University of Saskatchewan research team has, according to this story, discovered what it calls a 'super gene' that makes crops more resistant to heat, Prof. Gusta and his team are now, the story says, wooing biotech companies to use the gene in the development of newly resilient crops, which could help farmers frustrated by drought and wacky weather, with Gusta quoted as saying, "In a way, it is a super gene, and that's why there's several large companies interested in licensing (it)." Gusta and collaborator found a gene called Rob-5 is responsible for keeping a hardy perennial plant called brome grass tolerant to drought, heat and freezing. When researchers treated grass cells in a dish with a hormone called abscisic acid, they found it was the Rob-5 gene that sprang into action, spurring the creation of protein to help protect the plant from harsh conditions. Climate change forces plants to search for better places to live The Guardian | by Ian Sample | April 24, 2006 Climate change is reshaping the landscape of Britain as rising temperatures allow orchids and ferns to flourish in the north, while other species retreat to cooler conditions on high land and mountainsides. The conclusion, published today in a comprehensive survey of the nation's flora, suggests that the changing climate has already brought about a rapid and dramatic shift in the country's plantlife, a trend researchers say will be exacerbated by future warming. Volunteers working for the Botanical Society of the British Isles and the charity Plantlife recorded more than 200,000 plants in patches four kilometres square around the country and found the number and distribution of one third of all species had changed substantially since an earlier survey in 1987. Chinese province suffers worst drought in 55 years Planet Ark | April 24, 2006 China's northern province of Hebei is suffering its worst drought in 55 years with hundreds of thousands of people lacking drinking water. Hebei's worst drought since 1951 had destroyed wheat crops covering about 1.6 million hectares (4 million acres). "About 520,000 people will have seasonal difficulty accessing drinking water," Liu Weizhong said. "The number of people lacking drinking water will greatly increase in the future." Underground water in the province had dropped by 2 metres (6ft 7 in) compared with last year. Chengde, a city in Hebei about 200km northeast of Beijing, had accumulated only 33mm of rain since the third quarter of last year. Farmers eye skies, wallets as spring seeding approaches CBC News | April 24, 2006 It's a time of excitement – and a time of stress – for Manitoba farmers as they prepare to plant their crops for the new growing season. Farmers across the Prairies have been dealt tough blows in recent years. In 2004, crops were hurt by a bad frost, and last year heavy rains flooded fields, drowning crops or preventing planting altogether. Even if the weather co-operates this year, farmers are facing a record high input costs due to the increasing prices of fuel and fertilizer and low product prices. A stress hotline is now available (1-866-FOR-FARM) or visit www.ruralstress.ca New US arid-land agricultural research center in Maricopa, Arizona Agnet | April 24, 2006 A new USDA research facility was dedicated here today, beginning a new era of research for scientists who are developing environmentally friendly agricultural practices for arid climates. The US Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center (USALARC) boasts a state-of-the-art data communications system and top-of-the-line analytical and research equipment. The $27 million facility will support 26 permanent researchers, two visiting scientists, several postdoctoral scientists and about 80 support personnel. Scientists will focus on understanding the complex relationships between cropping systems, water management and the environment. The resulting knowledge will provide a foundation for efficient and environmentally friendly agriculture in arid climates. New bean reduces frost, disease risk Western Producer | Sean Pratt | April 20, 2006 Alberta bean growers will be keenly following field trials of a newly registered pinto variety this summer. AC Agrinto, a tall, early-maturing bean that yields about the same as the highest yielding existing varieties, is the first pinto line out of Agriculture Canada's bean breeding program to receive registration. It offers growers better standability and disease resistance than Othello, the dominant pinto grown in Alberta. Spring flood isolates Canadian Prairie farmers Reuters | April 17, 2006 WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Farmhouses in the Canadian Prairie province of Manitoba were sitting like islands in a great lake on Monday as the swelling Red River crested and rural residents were forced to travel by boat. An estimated 100,000 acres in southeastern Manitoba have been flooded by the river, which flows north from the United States. The flood was 15 kilometers (9 miles) wide at its broadest, about 60 km south of Winnipeg. "Definitely we're at the peak of it but we still can't relax too much," said Alf Warkentin, senior river forecaster for Manitoba. Light rain was forecast to fall in Winnipeg area on Tuesday evening. More later in the week could increase water levels, Warkentin cautioned. Death, famine, drought: cost of 3C global rise in temperature The Guardian | by Alok Jha | April 15, 2006 Global temperatures will rise by an average of 3C due to climate change and cause catastrophic damage around the world unless governments take urgent action, according to UK government's chief scientist. In a stark warning issued yesterday Sir David King said that a rise of this magnitude would cause famine and drought and threaten millions of lives. It would also cause a worldwide drop in cereal crops of between 20 and 400m tonnes, put 400 million more people at risk of hunger, and put up to 3 billion people at risk of flooding and without access to fresh water supplies. Few ecosystems could adapt to such a temperature change, equivalent to a level of carbon dioxide of 550 parts per million in the atmosphere, which would result in the destruction of half the world's nature reserves and a fifth of coastal wetlands. Many of Prof. King's predictions come from a report published by the UK's Hadley Centre, a world leader in climate change modeling, called Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change. Runaway runoff wreaks havoc Western Producer | Michael Raine & Karen Briere | April 13, 2006 A rapid spring melt is finding its way into many rural peoples' lives across the Prairies this week. Water backed up on Beaver creek last week where it met a provincial highway near Kenaston, Sask., until it surrounded a local farm and flooded thousands of acres of cropland. Floods submerge highways, fields in Manitoba CTV.ca | April 12, 2006 As the Red River continues to rise in southern Manitoba, residents have to deal with closed highways, submerged bridges and flooded fields. The Rural Municipality (RM) of Montcalm in the Red River Valley declared "precautionary" state of emergency in order to give crews more leeway when it comes to closing more roads, bridges and making repairs. Interview - Scientists Breed Rice to Defy Climate Change Planet Ark | April 12, 2006 Los Banos, Philippines - Scientists are developing new flood and drought-prone rice varieties to combat the threat of global warming to Asia's food staple but more work is needed, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) said. The institute needs US$25 million over the next 5 to 7 years to study the impact of rising temperatures, higher concentrations of greenhouse gases and greater extremes of droughts and floods on rice production, the IRRI director-general told Reuters on Tuesday. "We have a wide range of research programmes that are addressing issues directly relating to climate change and rising temperatures," said Robert Zeigler at the IRRI headquarters in Los Banos, in the foothills of Mount Makiling near Manila. "We have rice varieties that will be released in the near future that are more tolerant to flooding than currently available varieties," he said. Zeigler also said the institute was developing rice lines that were tolerant of drought, and had just begun research on rice that could withstand high temperatures. The institute, credited for helping the world feed itself by developing high-yielding rice during the so-called Green Revolution of the 1960s, is also helping with work on genetically modified Vitamin A enriched rice or "golden rice". Antifreeze genes for crops to bring rich rewards Agnet | by Dolly Aglay | April 11, 2006 Chicago, and Melbourne, Australia - Victorian scientists have discovered antifreeze genes in a unique grass from Antarctica that could mean millions of extra dollars in farmers' pockets, Minister for Innovation John Brumby announced today at BIO2006 in Chicago. Department of Primary Industries (DPI) scientists based at the new state-of-the-art Victorian AgriBiosciences Centre have uncovered genes in Antarctic Hairgrass giving the plant the remarkable ability to inhibit ice crystal growth as a mechanism for freezing tolerance. Mr. Brumby said the findings have major implications for improving frost tolerance in crop and pasture species that underpin the world's agriculture industries. "Over the next few years we should see the development and application of technologies for frost tolerance in crops based on the knowledge gained from the functional analysis of these antifreeze genes," Mr. Brumby said. Globally, 5-15% of agricultural production is lost to frost each year and in the USA there are more economic losses to frost than any other weather-related phenomenon. Victorian Minister for Agriculture, Bob Cameron, said on average frost caused production losses of just under $140 million a year in Victoria and South Australia's wheat and barley crops alone. He said Antarctic Hairgrass was one of only two vascular plants and the sole grass species to colonise the Antarctic Peninsula. Rains End Kenya Drought but Damage Remains Planet Ark | April 10, 2006 Nairobi - Seasonal rains have started in Kenya, ending a harsh months-long drought that killed scores of people and thousands of animals and hit key export crops, the Kenya Meteorological said on Friday. But the forecasters said it would take months before the effects of the drought were alleviated. "Now there's availability of water but there will be the delayed impact on agriculture," Peter Ambenje, assistant director at the Kenya Meteorological Department, told Reuters. Heavy rains have been pounding most parts of the country, including the northeast and coastal regions that were hardest hit by the lack of rains. About 3,200 people have been forced from their homes and tourists evacuated from hotels in northeastern Kenya after the downpours burst the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro river in the Malka Daka area. "We can confidently say the rains have established. In many arid and semi-arid regions, the drought is already alleviating, the dams are filling up and there is water for livestock," Ambenje said. The drought had a regional impact, affecting millions of people in neighbouring Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda and Burundi. Farmers converge on Ottawa Strahl suggests ethanol co-op Agriville | Jeff Helsdon | April 7, 2006 Hundreds of farmers converged on Ottawa Wednesday to rally for more support to offset low commodity prices, but few made the trip from this area. After talking with farm leaders in the morning, Barrett met with Strahl’s chief of staff and policy advisor to explain the situation facing Norfolk farmers. One of the things coming out of Wednesday’s meetings were statements in the media by Strahl that the federal government was working towards implementing a requirement all gasoline contain at least five per cent of a renewable material such as ethanol. Strahl’s plan included having the farmers involved in the ethanol production through a co-op so they would have another source of income. Western Prairies Face Impending Water Crisis ScienceDaily | Phoebe Dey | April 3, 2006 The Canadian prairies are facing an unprecedented water crisis due to a combination of climate warming, increase in human activity and historic drought. The western prairies are worse than other areas of Canada. Although most global studies rank Canada among the top five countries in terms of per-capita water supply, those rankings can be deceptive. Canada's western prairie provinces (WPP), for example, have an area of 2 million kms that lie in the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains and as a result, are the driest large area of southern Canada. We cannot replace the glaciers so our only alternative is to get very serious about water conservation and protection of the watersheds that supply our water," Dr. David Schindler said. For example, it is imperative to use less water for agriculture through drought resistant crops or incentives for water conservation and to consider reusing water and low-flow devices as ways to conserve our supply. We should also consider if and where we want population and industry to increase. Water crisis predicted on the Prairie The Globe and Mail | April 3, 2006 Ottawa - Canada's Prairies will face an unprecedented water crisis in coming years due to declining river flows and growing water usage - especially in processing Alberta's vast oil sands, says a new study. Summer flows in Prairie rivers are already 20 to 80 per cent lower than in the early part of the 20th century, say Alberta researchers David Schindler and W.F. Donahue. Judges notice impact of climate change on wine quality ABC (Australia) Online | April 3, 2006 The quality of wines world-wide is being affected by climate change and critics and judges are already noticing the changes. That is the consensus from a world conference on climate change and wine in Europe. An Australian speaker at the conference, Dr. Richard Smart, says industry leaders are already planning for big shifts in varieties grown in established wine regions. "You've got a situation where a region that's developed a reputation, let's say Coonawarra, over a hundred years or so, or some of the European regions over many hundred years, will potentially lose that reputation," he said. Alberta's drying up U of Alberta Web News Service | by Phoebe Dey | April 3, 2006 The Canadian Prairies are facing an unprecedented water crisis due to a combination of climate warming, increased human activity and historic drought, according to new research by University of Alberta's Dr. David Schindler, one of the world's leading environmental scientists. "The Western Prairies are worse than other areas of Canada," said Schindler, co-author of a paper published in the journal Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, early online edition. One of the referees of this paper said, "wow, it's like looking out the window of the locomotive 10 seconds before the train crashes. It's a very dire situation." Although most global studies rank Canada among the top five countries in terms of per-capita water supply, those rankings can be deceptive, argued Schindler and Dr. Bill Donahue, who co-authored the paper. Canada's Western Prairie Provinces (WPP), for example, have an area of 2 million kms that lie in the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains and, as a result, are the driest large area of southern Canada. Little research has been done on the cumulative effects of climate warming, drought and human activity on water shortages. Drought-Hit Tanzania Orders Herders Off Catchments Reuters | by George Obulutsa | April 3, 2006 Dar Es Salaam - Tanzania has ordered farmers and herders who have encroached on water catchment areas and game reserves to leave in a drive to protect the drought- weakened environment, Vice-President Ali Muhammed Shein said. The east African country is emerging from its worse drought in years, which has led to food shortages, and to power cuts due to a drop in hydroelectric power output. "This environmental destruction is the cause of drought and the drying up of water catchment areas in the country," Shein said in a speech broadcast on a state-run radio station late on Saturday. "On average, 91,3000 hectares of forest is lost every year." The government had given arable farmers and herders until June to leave, adding that the order would be enforced by regional commissioners. The government has |
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