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Annual growing season length is increasing almost everywhere in Europe, mostly in Eastern and Northern part. In Slovenia, the length of the annual growing season is increasing, especially since mid-1990s. According to projections, the duration of the annual growing season throughout Europe will increase in future. This will affect the expansion of more thermally demanding plants to areas towards the north of Europe, where the cultivation of such plants has not been possible so far, and in the southern part of Europe where changed thermal conditions will allow the growing season to extend towards the winter season. In all parts of Central and South-Eastern Europe, dry and hot summers will hamper crop production.


The length of the annual growing season is the period between the day when the average daily air temperature in spring exceeds 5°C and the day when it drops below this value in autumn.

An air temperature of 5°C is generally recognised to be the lowest temperature threshold for plant vegetation. The 5°C temperature threshold is also used as one of the conditions for the classification of agro-ecological zones. In the context of climate change, it enables assessing the impact of changing climate on the development of plants and their environment. This indicator also serves as a tool in preparing for adaptation to new conditions, thus minimising the potential negative impacts of climate change.


Charts

Figure PP06-1: Average length of annual growing season within individual places, Slovenia, reference periods 1961-1990 and 1991-2020
Sources: 

Meteorological data archive, Slovenian Environment Agency, 2021

Show data

1961-1990[number of days]

1991-2020[number of days]

Ljubljana

244

256

Novo mesto

238

249

Bilje

270

283

Godnje

259

278

Murska Sobota

236

245

Maribor

238

248

Rateče

187

199

Figure PP06-2: Changes in annual growing season length in Ljubljana, 1961-2022
Sources: 

Meteorological data archive, Slovenian Environment Agency, 2021

Show data

growing season length[number of days]

5-year running average[number of days]

1961

278

1962

226

1963

248

250

1964

255

239.40

1965

243

247.80

1966

225

246.60

1967

268

242.40

1968

242

240.40

1969

234

244.60

1970

233

245.20

1971

246

239.80

1972

271

243.80

1973

215

250

1974

254

248.40

1975

264

249.60

1976

238

257.60

1977

277

258.40

1978

255

251

1979

258

252.40

1980

227

243.80

1981

245

240.80

1982

234

236

1983

240

232.40

1984

234

231.80

1985

209

231

1986

242

228.40

1987

230

231.80

1988

227

241.80

1989

251

240.60

1990

259

251.20

1991

236

250

1992

283

254.60

1993

221

248.80

1994

274

250.60

1995

230

243.60

1996

245

245.20

1997

248

242.40

1998

229

252.80

1999

260

252.80

2000

282

259

2001

245

260.40

2002

279

262

2003

236

255.20

2004

268

260.60

2005

248

257.80

2006

272

258.20

2007

265

253.60

2008

238

254.40

2009

245

249.20

2010

252

251

2011

246

250.20

2012

274

256.20

2013

234

258.60

2014

275

260.40

2015

264

259.80

2016

255

260

2017

271

262

2018

235

268

2019

285

265.80

2020

294

261.60

2021

244

2022

250

Figure PP06-3: Timeline of change for the length, beginning and end of growing season in Ljubljana over the 21st century
Sources: 

Climate change atlas, 2021

Chart note: 

The timeline of change is shown for temperature threshold 5 °C for two scenarios relative to the reference period 1981-2010. Bold coloured curves show smoothed model median and lighter colours show model spread. Under RCP4.5 the growing season length will increase by approximately 25 days and under RCP8.5 by approximately 60 days. 

Figure PP06-4: Change in annual growing season length of crops, Europe, 1985-2014
Sources: 

EEA, Growing season for agricultural crops (CLIM 030), 2014


Goals

• To estimate the effect of climate change on the growing season length
• To prepare adaptation measures for climate change and reduce the possible consequences.

Annual growing season lenght is an important measure in the field of the climate change adaptation. The first package of the EU Climate Change Adaptation Strategy was presented in 2013. The main objectives of the strategy are to provide a database for better decision-making and to promote adaptation in most vulnerable sectors. 


Other sources and literature

  1. EEA, 2016. Growing season for agricultural crops (CLIM 030).
  2. EEA, 2012. Growing season for agricultural crops (CLIM 030)
  3. Ranljivost slovenskega kmetijstva in gozdarstva na podnebno spremenljivost in ocena predvidenega vpliva. 2003. ARSO. Dostopno na: http://meteo.arso.gov.si/uploads/probase/www/agromet/product/document/sl...
  4. Izzivi Slovenije na področju suš in degradacije tal. 2010. ARSO. Dostopno na:
    1. http://meteo.arso.gov.si/uploads/probase/www/agromet/product/document/sl... (7.9.2017)
  5. Podnebna spremenljivost Slovenije. Glavne značilnosti gibanja temperature zraka (1961-2011). ARSO, 2013. Dostopno na: http://meteo.arso.gov.si/uploads/probase/www/climate/text/sl/publication... (7.9.2017)
  6. Strategija prilagajanja slovenskega kmetijstva in gozdarstva podnebnim spremembam. Dostopno na: http://agromet.mkgp.gov.si/Publikacije/STRATEGIJA%20prilagajanja.pdf (7.9.2017)
  7. Strateški okvir prilagajanja podnebnim spremembam. 2016 Dostopno na: http://www.mop.gov.si/fileadmin/mop.gov.si/pageuploads/podrocja/podnebne... (7.9.2017)
  8. Ocena podnebnih sprememb v Sloveniji do konca 21.stoletja. Povzetek dejavnikov okolja z vplivom na kmetijstvo in gozdarstvo. 2018. ARSO. Dostopno na: http://meteo.arso.gov.si/uploads/probase/www/climate/text/sl/publications/povzetek-podnebnih-sprememb-agro.pdf (15.10.2019)
  9. Ocena podnebnih sprememb do konca 21. stoletja. Sintezno poročilo. Prvi del. 2018. ARSO. Dostopno na: http://meteo.arso.gov.si/uploads/probase/www/climate/text/sl/publications/OPS21_Porocilo.pdf (15.10.2019)
  10. Atlas podnebnih sprememb. Dostopno na: http://www.meteo.si/uploads/probase/www/climate/OPS21/Priloge-app/#/izbor (16.10.2019)


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