Crops and ecosystem services, a close interlinkage at the interface of adaptation and mitigation.

Abstract

Beyond the occurrence of extreme events, heat waves and increasing climate inter-seasonal instability is expected to affect more frequently field crops and more broadly ecosystems. Ecosystem services will be at the core of adaptation to a steadily evolving situation. The role of biodiversity is crucial in this regard building the resilience of crops and ecosystems. Understanding how the changing climate, in different parts of the world, will affect plants according to their eco-physiological limits is challenging. Ecosystem services planned at a territorial level, are part of the answer, mitigating local climate, regulating hydrological cycles, allowing soft pest control, as well as contributing to carbon sequestration. Technical solutions are part of the equation, but the potential of genetic optimization should not be over-estimated, against the limits of the existing genetical diversity.