Blackberry
The Arctic
Like many fruit crops, the loss of winter chill is likely to negatively impact blackberries as winters continue to warm.[1] In the Pacific Northwest, the source of 95% of the processed blackberry market, a variety of changes are occurring that have the potential to affect production. These include increasing annual average temperature, increasing incidence of heatwaves, and water shortages.[2] Climate change is also impacting indigenous harvest patterns in Arctic regions. Berry harvest usually occurs after the end of salmon runs. However, now the timing of berry ripening and the peak of salmon run are occurring at the same time, making co-harvesting far more difficult, leading to impacts on cultural food ability[3].
References:
[1] C.J. Atkinson, R.M. Brennan, and H.G. Jones, “Declining Chilling and Its Impact on Temperate Perennial Crops,” Environmental and Experimental Botany 91 (July 2013): 48–62, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2013.02.004.[2] Laurie Houston et al., “Specialty Fruit Production in the Pacific Northwest: Adaptation Strategies for a Changing Climate,” Climatic Change 146, no. 1 (January 1, 2018): 159–71, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-017-1951-y.
[3] Yereth Rosen, “Climate Change Is Affecting Wild Berries, and the People Who Depend on Them,” ArcticToday (blog), March 28, 2018, https://www.arctictoday.com/climate-change-affecting-wild-berries-people-depend/.
