AGRICULTURAL ADAPTATIONS TO CHANGING PERMAFROST CONDITIONS IN SOUTHERN YUKON

Karen McKenna, Kam Davies, Scott Smith, Pierre-Yves Gasser

In the proceedings of: GeoQuébec 2015: 68th Canadian Geotechnical Conference & 7th Canadian Permafrost Conference

Session: Northern Communities / Communautés nordiques

ABSTRACT: Yukon agriculture is adapting to the challenges caused by existing and changing permafrost conditions. An ongoing study identifies indicators of permafrost and changing permafrost conditions, documents adaptations farmers are making and uses baseline soil mapping, Agriculture and Agri- Land Suitability Rating System (LSRS) and climate scenario outputs for modelling future land suitability for agriculture in permafrost-affected areas. The presence of discontinuous permafrost near surface and at depth causes problems for agriculture so understanding where permafrost occurs and its condition is important for agricultural decision making. As LSRS does not currently take permafrost into account when rating land suitability for agriculture, we discuss the use of existing permafrost observational data, available detailed soil mapping and expert knowledge to incorporate known and observed permafrost conditions into the modelling.

RÉSUMÉ: étude en cours identifie les indicateurs du pergélisol et l'évolution des conditions du pergélisol, documente les adaptations que font les agriculteurs et utilise la cartographie des sols, le Système de classification des terres, selon leurs aptitudes pour les cultures (LSRS), et les modèles de scénarios climatiques, afin de modéliser les terrains propices à l'agriculture dans les secteurs affectés par le pergélisol. La présence de pergélisol discontinu près de la surface et en profondeur cause des problèmes à l'agriculture. Il est donc important, pour la prise de décision agricole, de comprendre où se trouve le pergélisol et son état. Puisque le LSRS ne prend actuellement pas en compte le pergélisol, nous expe

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