VANCOUVER — New research suggests that farming methods common to developed countries may be more vulnerable to climate change.
A study published in the journal Nature has found that farms in North America, Europe and Australia tend to be more affected by drought than in developing countries.
Co-author Navin Ramankutty of the University of British Columbia says yields on large, single-crop farms tend to drop twice as much under drought conditions than smaller farms.
Ramankutty says farms with smaller plots and more diverse crops may be more resilient to such conditions.
More frequent and more severe droughts are one of the predicted consequences of climate change.