Michigan State University (MSU) researchers are leading a study funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that will develop a system for conducting climate-impact assessments for international market systems.
With the $1.5 million NSF grant, researchers will pay special attention to climate change as it pertains to global agricultural industries. Through the Pileus Project, MSU has already evaluated climate change and the regional impact it has on agriculture and tourism.
In 2002, the state’s tart-cherry crop was essentially destroyed by an unusual freeze, prompting researchers to explore the global impact on these industries.
“As we were working with the tart cherry individually, it really occurred to us that we needed to be thinking of how climate change might impact other production areas and how that could effect what’s going on in Michigan, for example,” says Julie Winkler, principal investigator and MSU professor of geography.
The grant will allow researches to hone in on a conceptual framework, modify it and use it more specially as it applies to global agricultural industries.
“Currently, methods for conducting an assessment for a global industry do not exist,” Winkler said. “Our goal is to develop such a framework.”
The tart cherry is a good measure because it’s very sensitive to extreme climate changes, she says.
“An outcome of the research will be a unique climate change impact assessment for the international tart-cherry industry that industry stakeholders — including those in Michigan — can use when making decisions regarding future investments,” Winkler says.
Source: Julie Winkler, MSU
Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.
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