Dynamic management simulation of grasslands in the Spanish Cantabrian Coast for climate change impact assessment
Abstract
Permanent grasslands are a fundamental ecosystem for the biodiversity, agricultural, livestock and economic productivity of the Spanish Cantabrian Coast (northern-northwestern Spain). In the context of climate change, it is necessary to quantify precisely how the productivity of these agricultural systems will evolve and whether it will be necessary to introduce adaptation measures. To this aim, this study assesses the impact of climate change on grassland productivity in the Spanish Cantabrian Coast for the near future (2030-2059), through a suite of simulations with the Pasture Simulation model (PaSim) at 150 different sites. By using optimal mowing and fertilization routines, and alternative climate scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 and 8.5), evidence is given that productivity will likely increase ca. 11-14% for forage and carbon (C) yields, and 7-10% for nitrogen (N) yields in Cantabrian grasslands. To obtain such production increases, it will be necessary to perform cuts more frequently over an extended harvest season throughout the year.
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BibTeX
@article{rodriguez2026dynamic,
title = {{Dynamic management simulation of grasslands in the Spanish Cantabrian Coast for climate change impact assessment}},
author = {Alfredo Rodríguez and Iñigo Gómara and Gianni Bellocchi and Raphaël Martin and Adela Martínez-Fernández and Alfonso Carballal-Samalea and Jordi Doltra and Agustín del Prado and Margarita Ruiz-Ramos},
journal = {European Journal of Agronomy},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.eja.2026.128353},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05840318v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Dynamic management simulation of grasslands in the Spanish Cantabrian Coast for climate change impact assessment
AU - Alfredo Rodríguez
AU - Iñigo Gómara
AU - Gianni Bellocchi
AU - Raphaël Martin
AU - Adela Martínez-Fernández
AU - Alfonso Carballal-Samalea
AU - Jordi Doltra
AU - Agustín del Prado
AU - Margarita Ruiz-Ramos
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
JO - European Journal of Agronomy
DO - 10.1016/j.eja.2026.128353
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05840318v1
AB - Permanent grasslands are a fundamental ecosystem for the biodiversity, agricultural, livestock and economic productivity of the Spanish Cantabrian Coast (northern-northwestern Spain). In the context of climate change, it is necessary to quantify precisely how the productivity of these agricultural systems will evolve and whether it will be necessary to introduce adaptation measures. To this aim, this study assesses the impact of climate change on grassland productivity in the Spanish Cantabrian Coast for the near future (2030-2059), through a suite of simulations with the Pasture Simulation model (PaSim) at 150 different sites. By using optimal mowing and fertilization routines, and alternative climate scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 and 8.5), evidence is given that productivity will likely increase ca. 11-14% for forage and carbon (C) yields, and 7-10% for nitrogen (N) yields in Cantabrian grasslands. To obtain such production increases, it will be necessary to perform cuts more frequently over an extended harvest season throughout the year.
SN - 1161-0301
SN - 1873-7331
ER -