Daniel Blanchette Pelletier - Radio-Canada - 31 mars 2023
Le réchauffement climatique menace l'un des plus importants fleurons québécois : le sirop d'érable. Cet or ambré produit ici et convoité partout dans le monde pourrait être mis à l’épreuve par les aléas attendus de la météo d’ici la fin du siècle.
Climate change threatens one of Quebec’s most important jewels: maple syrup. This domestically produced golden syrup is the envy of the world but could be put to the test as the effects of global warming take shape in the next century.
Joshua M. Rapp et al - Forest Ecology and Management - 15 September 2019
We found that the timing of sap collection advanced by 4.3 days for every 1 °C increase in March mean temperature, sap volume peaked at a January-May mean temperature of 1 °C, and sap sugar content declined by 0.1 °Brix for every 1 °C increase in previous May-October mean temperature. Using these empirical relationships, we projected that the sap collection season midpoint will be 1 month earlier and sap sugar content will decline by 0.7 °Brix across sugar maple’s range by the year 2100 in an RCP 8.5 climate change scenario.
Legault et al - Public Library of Science One - 2019-04-25
... for many respondents (particularly in Canada), lack of information was identified as a constraint limiting adaptation to climate change.
What are the impacts of climate change on maple syrup production and can we manage for them?
2017 Forest Ecosystem cooperative conference - 2017-12-15
- Tapping season shifting up to 2 weeks earlier by end of century
- Less sap collected in most of U.S., but increases at colder/ more northern sites
- Declines in sap sugar content
- Less syrup produced per tap at most sites
- Warm years of the future may not allow syrup production in much of sugar maple’s range
- Questions
- What other factors influence sap flow and sugar content and how these interact with climate?
- Do the observed relationships continue outside of observed range of climate?
- What will interannual variability look like in the future?
