§6702 Study of Global Climate Change, Agriculture, and Forestry

Summary

The Secretary must study how global climate change affects important crops and forests. For crops, the study must look at how higher temperatures and more carbon dioxide change yields, how stronger or more common storms and shifts in water availability affect crops, how more drought in the South, Midwest, and Plains would hurt farmers, and how warmer weather changes pest problems. If needed, the Secretary must do more research on ways to reduce harm to crops, including whether breeding climate-tolerant varieties is possible, how long breeding would take and how it would affect farmer income, how current breeding programs can help, and the potential to make varieties that resist drought, pests, and salt. For forests, the Secretary must measure methane, nitrous oxide, and nonmethane hydrocarbon emissions from tropical and temperate forests, study how those emissions and climate change affect each other, and find forest management steps that could lower harmful effects. Reports on the crop study and the forest study must be sent to the House Committees on Agriculture and on Science, Space, and Technology, and to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry within 3 and 6 years after November 28, 1990, respectively. The Secretary must also give yearly interim reports with recommendations to those committees.