Climate change impacts and vulnerability in Europe 2016

Climate change impacts on society
Table 5.4
Illustration of challenges and adaptation solutions to climate change impacts on European
livestock systems
Climate
effect
Increased
temperatures
and
temperature
extremes
(especially
in southern
Europe)
Spread and
increased
incidence of
pathogens
and pathogen
vectors
Increased
crop and
grass
productivity;
changes in
nutritional
quality
Increased
pressure on
water supplies
Increased
variability
in crop and
grass yields
Intensified livestock systems
(high inputs and outputs, reduced or zero grazing)
Wide-value systems
(grazing, low inputs, systemic diversity)
Features and challenges Adaptations Features and challenges Adaptations
Housed animals are
protected from extremes,
but higher productivity
animals are more
susceptible to heat
stress; extra heat is also
produced from animals
being in close proximity
Housed animals avoid
many pathogens, but
large numbers of animals
kept in close proximity
to each other increases
potential hazards
It is possible to identify
and import feeds for the
most efficient dietary
mix and control diets on
an individual basis, but
changes in nutritional
quality need to be
explored
Intensive systems use
large amounts of water,
increasing use of feed
concentrates increases
water demand
Reliance on imported
feeds brings vulnerability
to price increases;
de‐coupling from local
feed production reduces
impacts of local climate;
increased rainfall
increases soil compaction
from harvesting
grasslands
Improve ventilation and
housing conditions;
genetic approaches for
breeds that have better
resilience against heat
stress
Use of antibiotics (but
limited by increasing
resistance); new medical
interventions, including
use of feeds and
supplements; monitoring
of health status; genetic
approaches for resilient
breeds
Improve efficiency of
nutrient uptake from feed
and make predictions
of impacts of changes
on nutritional quality;
identification of best
crops and management
approaches in different
conditions
More efficient collection,
storage and transport
of water; regulation
to minimise water
demand; improve water
governance
Use of home-grown
protein crops; increase
diversity in feed crops
grown; control traffic
operations to restrict soil
compaction
Grazing animals are
exposed to temperature
extremes, but lower
productivity animals are
more resilient to heat
stress; droughts will
have effects on pasture
productivity
Grazing animals expected
to be more susceptible
to liver-fluke and other
pathogens under climate
change (increased risk),
but smaller herd sizes
and more diversity
reduce hazards
Increased pasture and
meadow productivity
can improve livestock
productivity and improve
the productivity of
home‐grown feed crops,
but quality may vary
Provision of water in
the field may be difficult
and inefficient; drought
may reduce grassland
productivity
Variability in local
conditions can negatively
affect grass growth
and fodder crops for
home‐grown feeds,
but systems are robust
to changes in global
feed prices; increased
rainfall may reduce land
availability for grazing
Provision of shaded
areas in pasture; trees
for shade can also
improve the resilience
of swards to extremes;
genetic approaches for
breeds that have better
resilience against heat
stress
Use of antibiotics (limited
by resistance); new
medical interventions;
monitoring of health
status; genetic
approaches for
resilient breeds; land
management to reduce
pathogen impact
Improve efficiency of
nutrient uptake from feed
and make predictions
of impacts of changes
on nutritional quality;
identification of new
grazing management
approaches and
supplementary feeds
Provision of shade can
reduce water demand;
more efficient storage
and transport of
water; improve water
governance
Improve systems (use
of legumes in mixed
swards, agroforestry)
and management to
increase sward resilience
to extreme conditions;
restrict grazing during
very wet periods
Source:
ETC-CCA.
value-driven consumers and long-term policy choices.
In Europe, the future development of livestock systems
is therefore likely to vary by region; for example, in the
north-west of Europe dairy farms are already highly
intensified, while in eastern and central Europe dairy
farming systems remain small scale and traditional, so
that different factors need to be focused on (increased
efficiency and increased productivity, respectively)
for sustainable intensification to be achieved in these
differing areas (Taube et al., 2014).
It is not certain that the delivery of wider
(non‐commoditised) and longer term goals (such as
adaptation to the impacts of climate change) will be
met by 'natural' market processes. These goals require
intervention that stimulates and supports shifts to more
242 Climate change, impacts and vulnerability in Europe 2016 | An indicator-based report