The crops grown in New Zealand and where they are planted is set to change if nothing's done to tackle carbon emissions, according to agriculture scientists.
The impact of increased Co2 on food production is part of an ongoing experiment in Bulls.
As part of the experiment, the same level of Co2 expected in the year 2050 is being pumped onto grass.
AgResearch researcher Zac Beechey-Gradwell told 1News, “Co2 is basically like sugar for plants, all other things equal, more Co2 will increase plant growth."
The experiment has been running for 24 years and Beechey-Gradwell says “in the first five years, we saw big increases in pasture growth, those differences in the following five years were not so large.”
Scientists used the data gathered alongside climate change predictions to better understand future pasture growth.
AgResearch scientist Dr Mark Lieffering told 1News, in Southland for example, “warmer temperatures will increase pasture growth, areas like Hawke's Bay, spring becomes earlier, the summer peak is less."
Modelling by Plant and Food Research shows if emissions aren't tackled, apples wouldn't grow in parts of the North Island but they would in Southland.
Plant and Food research scientist Hamish Brown told 1News, “a lot of fruit crops require chilling to have a good flowering and fruit set and now we're having some problems in northern regions where the winters are too warm.
“The increase in temperatures causes crops to develop faster so the same crop will be growing for a shorter duration, which tends to reduce the yield,'' he said.
Meanwhile, climate scientist James Renwick says, “heavy rainfall events and droughts and really hot conditions, that will last longer. It will be tough for a lot of ecosystems and a lot of crops we grow.”
This means farmers face tough decisions as they look ahead to how they might operate in the future.
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