KAZALCI OKOLJA

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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, 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 age within individual places, Slovenia, reference periods 1961-1990 and 1991-2020
Sources: 

Meteorological data archive, Slovenian Environment Agency, 2021 (25. 02. 2021)

Show data

1961-1990 [number of days]

1991-2020 [number of days]

Ljubljana

243

260

Novo mesto

238

253

Bilje

278

284

Slap pri Vipavi

276

290

Murska Sobota

237

247

Maribor

243

253

Rateče

187

203

Figure PP06-2: Changes of length of annual growing age in Ljubljana, 1961-2020
Sources: 

Meteorological data archive, Slovenian Environment Agency, 2021 (25. 02. 2021)

Show data
growing season[number of days]5-y running average[number of days]
1961279
1962227
1963249250.80
1964256240.20
1965243248.40
1966226247.20
1967268243
1968243241.20
1969235245.40
1970234245.80
1971247240.40
1972270238.60
1973216244.80
1974226243.20
1975265244.80
1976239252.60
1977278256.60
1978255248
1979246249.40
1980222238.20
1981246234.60
1982222232.40
1983237230
1984235229.40
1985210229.80
1986243228
1987224231.40
1988228241.40
1989252240.20
1990260252.20
1991237251
1992284255.60
1993222249.80
1994275251.60
1995231244.60
1996246246.20
1997249243.40
1998230254
1999261254
2000284260.20
2001246261.60
2002280263.20
2003237256.20
2004269261.60
2005249258.80
2006273259.20
2007266262.40
2008239263.20
2009285258
2010253260
2011247259
2012276264
2013235267
2014310268
2015265268
2016256258
2017272263
2018236269
2019285
2020294
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 (25. 02. 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 of length of annual growing age of crops, Europe, 1985-2014
Sources: 

EEA, Growing season for agricultural crops (CLIM 030), 2014 (25. 02. 2021)

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Goals

• To estimate the effect of climate change on the growing season length
• To prepare adaptation measures in the agriculture sector

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. 



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