Climate Change and Winter Survival of Perennial Forage Crops in Eastern Canada

2002 ◽  
Vol 94 (5) ◽  
pp. 1120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilles Bélanger ◽  
Philippe Rochette ◽  
Yves Castonguay ◽  
Andrew Bootsma ◽  
Danielle Mongrain ◽  
...  
2006 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Bélanger ◽  
Y. Castonguay ◽  
A. Bertrand ◽  
C. Dhont ◽  
P. Rochette ◽  
...  

Harsh winter climate results in frequent losses of stands and yield reduction in many forage-growing areas of Canada and other parts of the world. Climatic conditions and crop management both affect the winter survival of perennial forage crops. In this review, we present the main causes of winter damage in eastern Canada and we discuss crop management practices that help mitigate the risks of losses. Predictive tools available to assess the risks of winter damage both spatially and temporally are also presented. Our understanding of the causes of winter damage and of the plant adaptation mechanisms to winter stresses, particularly the role of N and C organic reserves, has improved. Forage species commonly grown in eastern Canada differ in their tolerance to subfreezing temperatures and to anoxia caused by the presence of ice on fields. Some improvement in winter hardiness of forage legume species has been achieved through breeding in eastern Canada but new technologies based on laboratory freezing tests and the identification of molecular markers may facilitate the future development of winter-hardy cultivars. Crop management practices required for good winter survival are now better defined, particularly those involving cutting management and the interval between harvests. Simulation models and climatic indices derived from our current knowledge of the causes of winter damage provide general indications on the risk of winter damage but their degree of precision and accuracy is still not satisfactory. Further improvements in winter survival require a more thorough understanding of the different causes of winter damage and, primarily, of their complex interactions with genetic, climatic, and management factors. Key words: Alfalfa, organic reserves, culitvars, species, management, climate


2020 ◽  
Vol 643 ◽  
pp. 197-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
SME Fortune ◽  
SH Ferguson ◽  
AW Trites ◽  
B LeBlanc ◽  
V LeMay ◽  
...  

Climate change may affect the foraging success of bowhead whales Balaena mysticetus by altering the diversity and abundance of zooplankton species available as food. However, assessing climate-induced impacts first requires documenting feeding conditions under current environmental conditions. We collected seasonal movement and dive-behaviour data from 25 Eastern Canada-West Greenland bowheads instrumented with time-depth telemetry tags and used state-space models to examine whale movements and dive behaviours. Zooplankton samples were also collected in Cumberland Sound (CS) to determine species composition and biomass. We found that CS was used seasonally by 14 of the 25 tagged whales. Area-restricted movement was the dominant behaviour in CS, suggesting that the tagged whales allocated considerable time to feeding. Prey sampling data suggested that bowheads were exploiting energy-rich Arctic copepods such as Calanus glacialis and C. hyperboreus during summer. Dive behaviour changed seasonally in CS. Most notably, probable feeding dives were substantially shallower during spring and summer compared to fall and winter. These seasonal changes in dive depths likely reflect changes in the vertical distribution of calanoid copepods, which are known to suspend development and overwinter at depth during fall and winter when availability of their phytoplankton prey is presumed to be lower. Overall, CS appears to be an important year-round foraging habitat for bowheads, but is particularly important during the late summer and fall. Whether CS will remain a reliable feeding area for bowhead whales under climate change is not yet known.


2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey S. Dukes ◽  
Jennifer Pontius ◽  
David Orwig ◽  
Jeffrey R. Garnas ◽  
Vikki L. Rodgers ◽  
...  

Climate models project that by 2100, the northeastern US and eastern Canada will warm by approximately 3–5 °C, with increased winter precipitation. These changes will affect trees directly and also indirectly through effects on “nuisance” species, such as insect pests, pathogens, and invasive plants. We review how basic ecological principles can be used to predict nuisance species’ responses to climate change and how this is likely to impact northeastern forests. We then examine in detail the potential responses of two pest species (hemlock woolly adelgid ( Adelges tsugae Annand) and forest tent caterpillar ( Malacosoma disstria Hubner)), two pathogens (armillaria root rot ( Armillaria spp.) and beech bark disease ( Cryptococcus fagisuga Lind. + Neonectria spp.)), and two invasive plant species (glossy buckthorn ( Frangula alnus Mill.) and oriental bittersweet ( Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb.)). Several of these species are likely to have stronger or more widespread effects on forest composition and structure under the projected climate. However, uncertainty pervades our predictions because we lack adequate data on the species and because some species depend on complex, incompletely understood, unstable relationships. While targeted research will increase our confidence in making predictions, some uncertainty will always persist. Therefore, we encourage policies that allow for this uncertainty by considering a wide range of possible scenarios.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oiva Niemeläinen ◽  
Antti Hannukkala ◽  
Lauri Jauhiainen ◽  
Kaija Hakala ◽  
Markku Niskanen ◽  
...  

The official variety trials at Rovaniemi, Finland (66.58°N, 26.01°E) in 1980–2017 show a substantial increase in dry matter yields (DMY) of timothy (Phleum pratense), meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea), coinciding with a 156 °Cd increase in the average growing season Tsum and a 461 °Cd decrease in the average winter frost sum for the same period. The annual DMY of timothy was 3128, 4668, 8385 and 9352 kg ha-1 in the periods (P) 1980–1989 (P1), 1990–1999 (P2), 2000–2009 (P3), and 2010–2017 (P4). The first cut yielded 1792, 2166, 4008 and 4473, and the second cut 1337, 2503, 4378 and 4879 kg ha-1, respectively. Yields of meadow fescue followed a similar pattern. The first cut was about ten days and the second cut about one week earlier on P4 than on P1. Shorter snow cover period, milder winters, higher live ground cover of timothy in spring, and higher temperature sum during the growing season were most likely responsible for the yield increase. The results indicate a strong impact of climate change on DMY of perennial forage crops in the north.


2021 ◽  
Vol 901 (1) ◽  
pp. 012047
Author(s):  
S I Kostenko ◽  
E Z Shamsutdinova ◽  
M Yu Novoselov ◽  
Yu M Piskovatsky ◽  
Yu S Tyurin

Abstract In Russian agriculture, fodder crops play a huge role as a source of complete feed for animals and as the main factor in the greening of all agriculture. It is fodder crops that are the main factors for increasing the humus content in soils, as the main indicator of their fertility, it is they who can most successfully fight wind and water erosion, it is they who most successfully of all agricultural crops can grow on the poorest and most problematic soils (saline, arid, waterlogged, etc.) being pioneers for the cultivation of basic food crops. This predetermines the primary role of forage crops in responding to climate change throughout Eurasia. In the past periods of history, global climate change led to major social shocks precisely because of a sharp decline in agricultural production, crop failures, and even a subsequent decline in population in individual countries [1]. Timely response to such changes by creating varieties adapted to new limiting environmental factors will not only successfully overcome the expected crisis, but also benefit from such a change. In addition to using traditional methods, great hopes are pinned on the widespread use of modern genetic technologies, biochemical and physiological methods, methods of cell and tissue culture.


2015 ◽  
Vol 183 ◽  
pp. 23-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Mäkinen ◽  
Janne Kaseva ◽  
Perttu Virkajärvi ◽  
Helena Kahiluoto

1986 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter F. Shacklock ◽  
James S. Craigie

Commercial aquaculture of Chondrus crispus in eastern Canada required the development of reliable methods for ensuring the winter survival of a healthy, vegetative inoculum. Two procedures were investigated. Agitated cultures of C. crispus (stocking density <6 kg∙m−2) in running seawater grew at average rates of 0.21–0.34 kg∙m−2∙wk−1 during two winters under natural irradiance. Cultures maintained in undisturbed, outdoor tanks of seawater over three winters showed little or no net production; however, survival was excellent provided that the stocking density remained below approximately 10 kg∙m−2. The plants were capable of resuming growth when environmental conditions improved. We found no difference in the responses of the several haploid and diploid isolates examined. Large vegetative inocula required for commercial aquaculture can be maintained simply and reliably in tanks of clean seawater if they are undisturbed and an ice cover is allowed to form.


2010 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Jean-François Therrien

A pair of Short-eared Owls was observed throughout the summer of 2008 showing territorial behavior more than 1000 km north of their known breeding range in north-eastern Canada. These observations might be related to high lemming densities and/or climate change occurring in the Arctic.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document