Europe's future protein-crop map is not one climate story
WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS
Species distribution models using climate, soil and topography mapped potential suitability of eight protein-rich crops across Europe at about 1-km resolution. Peas, lupins and faba beans were projected to gain suitable area across many scenarios, while ryegrass and quinoa lost area; soy and oats showed location- and scenario-dependent patterns.
WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ
Climate adaptation is a crop-by-place portfolio problem rather than a promise that every current crop shifts uniformly north. A suitability map can identify questions for cultivar trials and supply-chain planning.
CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY
These are climatic and biophysical suitability scenarios, not observed yield, farm profit, water availability, market adoption or labor feasibility. Crop occurrence records and future climate-model choices shape the outputs.
SOURCE
Regional Environmental Change — 29 Oct 2026
View original evidence ↗
Fine-scale suitability modeling projected gains for legumes but declines for some other crops, with sharp regional variation.
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