Roadblocks to assessing climate impacts on temperate perennial fruit

Abstract

Observed climate changes are already increasing pressure on agricultural productivity, highlighting the need for the construction of reliable assessments of projected climate change impacts on plant processes. Such impact assessments underpin adaptive options and indicate pathways to manage expected risk and illustrate future opportunities. Using projections of spring frost risk for pome fruit in Australia, potential barriers to construction of climate impact assessments are demonstrated. Through using various phenology models and potential future representations of frost conditions the sensitivity of future risk outcomes were assessed at two Australian orchards. It was found that potential ..