Agricultural industries account for 16% of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. Horticulture contributes only 1% of this (0.16% of total), mainly due to the smaller area of land use.
Despite its small environmental impact, horticulture tends to have a greater impact per hectare because of the intensity of production, infrastructure requirements (including cool-rooms) and relatively high fertiliser imput.
The attached 4 page fact sheet (pdf 331 kb), introduces the causes of climate change and discusses the contribution of horticulture. Possible industry impacts, future adaptations and an instructive case study, are also presented.
Key Points :
There are opportunities to reduce the emissions from horticulture, gaining the additional advantages of reduced input costs and reduced environmental impact.
Vegetable producers can be affected by ‘climate change’:
1. Direct effects on productivity through increasing temperatures and carbon dioxide levels, as well as changes in rainfall and wind.
2. Changes in government policies, aimed at reducting predicted climate change effects, and changing consumer preferences, will have an impact on how agricultural businesses operate.
• Climate modeling shows the impacts of climate change may be reduced, delayed or avoided by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• Intensive horticulture produces greater emissions per hectare of land than other forms of agriculture.
• Carbon footprinting is a measure of the greenhouse gas emissions produced by a particular product or activity. Growers need to understand their carbon footprint so that emissions can be accounted for, reported and managed.
• Vegetable growers can further reduce their carbon footprint by creating carbon sinks to reduce their environmental impact.
Climate change is going to impact on vegetable growing in your local region, knowing what these predicted impacts are, and how best to prepare your farm to deal with them, is valuable information for your business enterprise.
See Also :
Carbon Footprint of the Australian Vegetable Industry - discussion papers
Climate Change - EnviroVeg website
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