Ecophysiology of the response and adaptation strategy of forage and grassland plants to climate change

Climatic variables (average and variability) will be undergoing a significant change in the 21st century. What will be the impact on the physiology, production and perennity of forage species? Higher temperatures and increased CO2 levels will have a globally positive effect on photosynthesis, production and symbiotic fixation, but droughts (as well as limited nitrogen supplies) could cancel this. The interactions between these different effects are analyzed, per type of cover (forage grass/legumes, annual and perennial species, temperate or Mediterranean, C3 and C4 plants (maize, sorghum) ...) and the way in which species adapt to different types of climate. In extreme conditions (high summer temperatures and/or hydric deficit in April-August >500 mm), the survival of temperate grassland species is compromised. The genetic improvement of species must anticipate the change in cultivated varieties.