Global change and the challenges for agriculture and forestry

An international conference, Food & Forestry: Global Change and Global Challenges was held recently in Reading UK to report on progress that has been made on understanding the impact of global change on crops, pastures, and rangelands, and on soils, agro-ecosystems, and forests. This conference was organized under the auspices of Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems or GCTE, which is a core project in the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme. The meeting brought together 250 researchers and policy makers from 40 different countries (including 11 scientists from the USDA, Agricultural Research Service) to review the current understanding of how global change affects production of food and fiber and to identify priorities for future research. This paper reviews and summarizes the Conference's major findings and is of interest to research workers, university teachers, and students concerned with man's impact on his environment.