Conservation practice and global climate change

Excerpt

Across a broad array of scientific disciplines, the evidence is clear and compelling that global climate change is occurring. The implications of this change are important to every major industrial sector, including agriculture. Thus, it was appropriate that the Soil and Water Conservation Society's House of Delegates and Board of Directors engaged the Society in an effort to examine the science of conservation practices to mitigate and adapt to climate change and subsequent policy implications for agriculture and the sustainable management of soil and water resources.

In this issue of the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, you can read the scientific assessment which examines how soil and water conservation practices can contribute to both the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. The policy position of the Society, which can be found at http://www.swcs.org, outlines the importance of soil and water conservation practice, research, and outreach to address what will surely be a long, important application of science and practice to assure the future productivity of agricultural and natural resource ecosystems.

Understanding and addressing the agricultural and natural resource implications of climate change is extremely important as nations around the world face the challenge of feeding, clothing, and fueling…