CLIMESCO: evolution of cropping systems as affected by climate change

In this number of Italian Journal of Agronomy, seventeen scientific papers are published on the main results of the project CLIMESCO. This project was supported by three Italian Ministries (“Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricercaâ€, “Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali†and “Ministero dell'Ambiente e della tutela del territorio e del Mareâ€) in the framework of “Fondo Integrativo Speciale Ricerca†(FISR, Special Integrated Research Fund). Most recent studies based on observed data and simulations of future climate conditions showed that the global increase of temperatures is most likely due to the increased concentration of Green House Gases. The effect of warming is unequally distributed around the globe, with some areas more sensitive to climate change than others, as the Mediterranean region. Climate change over this region is shown to be characterized by increasing temperatures and by relatively large changes in the frequency of extreme climatic events for both temperature and rainfall. The agricultural and food systems represent one of the most sensitive and vulnerable sectors of the area....