Perceptions of U.S. and Canadian maple syrup producers toward climate change, its impacts, and potential adaptation measures

The production of maple syrup is an important cultural and economic activity directly related to the climate of northeastern North America. As a result, there are signs that climate change could have negative impacts on maple syrup production in the next decades, particularly for regions located at the southern margins of the sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) range. The purpose of this survey study is to present the beliefs and opinions of maple syrup producers of Canada (N = 241) and the U.S. (N = 113) on climate change in general, its impacts on sugar maple health and maple syrup production, and potential adaptation measures. Using conditional inference classification trees, we examined how the socio-economic profile of respondents and the geographic location and size of respondents’ sugar bushes shaped the responses of survey participants. While a majority (75%) of respondents are confident that the average temperature on Earth is increasing, less than half (46%) believe that climate change will have negative impacts on maple syrup yield in the next 30 years. Political view was a significant predictor of these results, with respondents at the right right and center-right of the political spectrum being less likely to believe in climate change and less likely to anticipate negative effects of climate change on maple syrup production. In addition, 77% of the participants indicated an interest in adopting adaptation strategies if those could increase maple syrup production. This interest was greater for respondents using vacuum tubing for sap collection than other collection methods. However, for many respondents (particularly in Canada), lack of information was identified as a constraint limiting adaptation to climate change.SL and AP were partly funded by the CICan Career-Launcher Internship program. AA was supported by Spanish Government through the Juan de la Cierva fellowship program (IJCI- 2016-30049)

Impacts du changement climatique sur la croissance et le développement du blé en France

Knowledge acquired over the paste decades on wheat physiology allows for an estimation of the impacts of key climatic factors on wheat physiology, yield components, as well as a quantification of the main climatic risks for the crop. Using historical weather data sets starting in 1955 from a large number of weather stations, we have concluded that a certain number of climatic risks have changed through comparison of two sequences: 1955-1980 and 1981-2005. Despite a significant anticipation of phenological stages, number of grains perm2 has been significantly affected by an incresase in water stress during stem extension; also, kernel weight is more strongly penalized through the joint effects of increased drought and especially increased heat stress during grain filling. These tendancies vary geographically. Certain regions have been affected early on (mediteranean region), whereas others are almost untouched as yet (western maritime front). Studies using projected future weather data validates this tendancy and allows its extrapolation. We propose adaptation pathways through escape based on varietal earliness and identify new phenological ideotypes and modes of growth better adapted to future risk. As a complement, the interest of selecting for cultivars tolerant to abiotic stresses is put forward, especially cultivars efficient with regards to water use and resistant to high temperatures. For these aspects, simple diagnostic methods and characterization tools are given. Finally, a preliminary analysis of the adaptation of cropping practices (sowing, nitrogen fertilization, lodging control) is initiated

Perceptions of U.S. and Canadian maple syrup producers toward climate change, its impacts, and potential adaptation measures

The production of maple syrup is an important cultural and economic activity directly related to the climate of northeastern North America. As a result, there are signs that climate change could have negative impacts on maple syrup production in the next decades, particularly for regions located at the southern margins of the sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) range. The purpose of this survey study is to present the beliefs and opinions of maple syrup producers of Canada (N = 241) and the U.S. (N = 113) on climate change in general, its impacts on sugar maple health and maple syrup production, and potential adaptation measures. Using conditional inference classification trees, we examined how the socio-economic profile of respondents and the geographic location and size of respondents’ sugar bushes shaped the responses of survey participants. While a majority (75%) of respondents are confident that the average temperature on Earth is increasing, less than half (46%) believe that climate change will have negative impacts on maple syrup yield in the next 30 years. Political view was a significant predictor of these results, with respondents at the right right and center-right of the political spectrum being less likely to believe in climate change and less likely to anticipate negative effects of climate change on maple syrup production. In addition, 77% of the participants indicated an interest in adopting adaptation strategies if those could increase maple syrup production. This interest was greater for respondents using vacuum tubing for sap collection than other collection methods. However, for many respondents (particularly in Canada), lack of information was identified as a constraint limiting adaptation to climate change