Climate change will move and reduce the land suitable for growing food and timber, putting the production of these two vital resources into direct competition, a new study has found.
The sight of vineyards in Britain is becoming more common as hotter summers create increasingly suitable conditions for growing grapes. But behind this success story is a sobering one: climate change is shifting the regions of the world suitable for growing crops.
Researchers from the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge have uncovered a looming issue: as the land suitable for producing our food moves northwards, it will put a squeeze on the land we need to grow trees. The timber these trees produce is the basis of much of modern life – from paper and cardboard to furniture and buildings.
They say that the increasing competition between land for timber production and food production due to climate change has, until now, been overlooked – but is set to be an emerging issue as our demand for both continues to increase.
Read full article:Global timber supply threatened as climate change pushes cropland northwards
Reference: Bousfield, C.G., et al, ‘Climate change will exacerbate land conflict between agriculture and timber production.’ Nature Climate Change (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41558-024-02113-z
Photo: Timber/farming contrast in the USA. Credit: Gianluca Cerullo.