Climate change to cause varying crop yields in Austria: expert

New climate change forecasts from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) show how Austrian agriculture will be affected by climate change.

Professor Josef Eitzinger from the BOKU Institute of Meteorology said various agricultural regions in Austria would be affected very differently by climate change, and "some will win, some will lose," Kurier newspaper reported Monday.

Eitzinger said he expected "greater variability for annual crop yields," with very good years contrasting with low-yield years due to long periods of drought or heavy rainfall. He added it was already known there would be longer heat waves due to the increase in temperature.

This is expected to cause a decrease in the proportion of grassland, and farmers will increasingly turn to heat-resistant crops such as corn, sunflower, and millet, and prompt the cultivation of other such plant varieties. Certain pests previously non-existent in Austria, such as corn rootworm, could also begin to become a problem, he said.

The rising temperatures will also be a disadvantage for animal husbandry, with heat stunting the growth of pigs and causing cows to produce less milk. Low-lying alpine regions however, will benefit from the warmer summers and less precipitation, and land which is ideal for wine-producing will also improve.

Water shortages are also expected to arise more frequently however, and the need for artificial irrigation will increase, with major water sources currently not close to large farming regions. Endit