Grasslands are the core of forage production worldwide and are severely threatened by climate changes, which can strongly reduce grassland productivity. Climate change is happening at a worldwide scale but not all parts of the world are affected similarly. Thus, understanding local and regional effects of climate change on grassland ecosystems is crucial to adapt management practices accordingly and ensure sufficient forage production.
The goal of the SPAD project is to increase sustainability and adapt food production systems to climate change in the French departments of Doubs, Territoire de Belfort, Haute-Saône and Jura, as well as in the Swiss cantons of Jura and Jura Bernois. The novelty of the project consists in including quantitative criteria of sustainability based on local farming conditions (grassland type, common management practices, production system).
Based on local climatic scenarios, future sustainability and environmental impacts of farms will be determined and adapted management practices will be developed to mitigate such impacts and increase the sustainability of grassland systems at the regional scale.
(SPAD, 2020-2022, Interreg France-Switzerland project n°6125)
