Climate Change and Agriculture in North America: Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation Potential.

Agriculture across North America is diverse along with the climate. Agricultural production is comprised of more than 200 crops each with its specific temperature and water requirements. Changes in climate have impacted agricultural production because of variability in precipitation amounts, temperature extremes, extreme precipitation events, and extreme weather events. Weather within a growing season  impacts production for a location while the climate for an area determines which crops can be profitably grown. Impacts of weather events within a growing season can reduce production, if not destroy the crop, and increases in climate variability will further increase the potential risk to production. The projections for an increase in climate variability in temperature and precipitation will create increased stress on agricultural production across North America. Strategies for adaptation of cropping systems to this increased variability will have to be developed for each specific cropping system and include both the genetic and management components. Linking genetic resources with enhanced management will reduce the potential risk to weather within a season. Mitigation strategies linking cropping systems to climate change provide an opportunity to enhance the soil resource and the efficiency of crop production. Sequestering carbon into the soil increases the soil organic matter and creates a soil system capable of storing more soil water and resisting erosion. Management strategies linked with nitrous oxide reductions in cropping systems increase the nitrogen use efficiency and the overall efficiency of production. These changes form the foundation for a resilient cropping system to climate change.