Reflections on the AgriAdapt Vulnerability & Adaptation Quiz

The AgriAdapt Webtool for Adaptation is a resource which assess the vulnerability of the main European agricultural products to the effects of climate change and proposes adaptive measures.

I completed the Farm Vulnerability & Adaptation Quiz on the AgriAdapt website and found that for me, overall, macro-level and conceptual questions were easier to answer than those relating to specific adaptation plans or agricultural knowledge.

For example, I appeared to have scored relatively well in the sections requiring the understanding of concepts such as the difference between weather and climate, climate change, the greenhouse effect, sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and general warming trends and their attendant climate impacts. Unsurprisingly to me, as a committed vegetarian with a strong interest in animals rights, I also performed positively in questions relating to animal welfare.

As the quiz questions advanced into more detailed territory, it became more challenging for me to select the correct answers even by guesswork. For instance, some background knowledge would have been required in respect of:-

• grain shrivelling in cereals

• bud-bursting in permanent crops

• the Cool Night Index and its effect on grape colour and aroma

• green pruning in vineyards

• tillage operations and its effect on soil structure

However, even though I was unable to answer many questions requiring such knowledge, I found that the quiz was an enjoyable way of being educated and to glean a deeper understanding of the dynamic ways in which one may design adaptative measures for present and future opportunities and threats.

The Adaptations section of the AgriAdapt website also offered an easy way to understand more about some different climate regions within Europe, and the range of sustainable adaptation measures that can be considered in the short, medium, and long term.

Image: AgriAdapt