Model results suggest that runoff in the northern part of China is quite vulnerable to climate change, mainly as a consequence of changes in precipitation in spring, summer, and autumn, especially during the flood season. To balance water supply with water demand, increasingly efficient water management is likely the best approach for Japan. The most critical uncertainties are the lack of credible projections of the effects of global change on the Asian monsoon or the ENSO phenomenon, which have great influence on river runoffs. Multiple-stress impact studies on water resources in international river basins are needed in the future. An increase in productivity may occur if the positive effects of CO 2 on crop growth are considered, but its magnitude remains uncertain.
Aquaculture is particularly important to Temperate Asia.
Greater cultivation of warm-water species could develop. Warming will require greater attention to possible oxygen depletion, fish diseases, and introduction of unwanted species, as well as to potential negative factors such as changes in established reproductive patterns, migration routes, and ecosystem relationships. An increase in sea level will exacerbate the current severe problems of tectonically and anthropogenically induced land subsidence in delta areas. Saltwater intrusion also would become more serious. The major impacts in Temperate Asia under global climate change are projected to be large shifts of the boreal forests, the disappearance of significant portions of mountain glaciers, and water supply shortages.