GRAND CHALLENGE 2
We must adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change on food, feed, fiber, and fuel systems in the United States.
The impacts of climate change and climate variability on agriculture, food systems, and food security will have socioeconomic, environmental, and human health implications. Public and private decision-makers need new technologies, policy options, and information to transform agriculture into an industry that is more resilient and adaptive to climate variability and climate change.
Our areas of scientific focus are:
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Improving existing and developing new models for use in climate variability and change studies; addressing carbon, nitrogen, and water changes in response to climate; assessing resource needs and efficiencies; identifying where investments in adaptive capacity will be most beneficial, and addressing both spatial and temporal scale requirements for agricultural decision making
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Developing economic assessments to provide more accurate estimates of climate change impacts and the potential costs and benefits of adaptation, and to validate and calibrate models
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Incorporating advances in decision sciences that could improve uncertainty communication and the design of mitigation and adaptation strategies
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Developing new technologies for more effective communication to selected target audiences
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Identifying appropriate policies to facilitate both mitigation and adaptation, and identifying how these policies interact with each other and with other policies