The Impact of climate change on Agricuture, Forestry and Water Management

Agriculture is among the sectors of the national economy that is the most sensitive to climate change due to its “workplace” being under the open sky. In recent decades, climate change has been primarily reflected by an extension of the growing season or by a partial change of areas suitable for some crops, or their varieties, which is visible, for example, in the case of the vine. On the other hand, climate change also brings about a more frequent occurrence of extreme weather phenomena or a change in the annual rainfall, which is reflected, in particular, by the occurrence of floods or, in contrast, droughts. In the future, climate change could also bring about a faster spread of the pests and diseases of agricultural crops or facilitate the spread of invasive species of plants, animals and micro-organisms. Although agriculture also has emissions of greenhouse gases, which primarily include nitrogen oxides, methane and carbon dioxide, on the other hand, along with forestry, it contributes to climate change mitigation through longterm carbon sequestration in the soil and in plant biomass. In 2017, the Ministry of Agriculture prepared a new publication entitled “Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change in the Czech Republic conditions – Summary of Current Information”, which, on the one hand, summarises all the international and national strategy papers that are relevant to the adaptation of agriculture to climate change and, on the other hand, provides an overview of the specific adaptation measures in the agricultural sector.