Integrating pests and pathogens into the climate change/food security debate
TL;DR: More mechanistic inclusion of pests and pathogen effects in crop models would lead to more realistic predictions of crop production on a regional scale and thereby assist in the development of more robust regional food security policies.
Abstract: While many studies have demonstrated the sensitivities of plants and of crop yield to a changing climate, a major challenge for the agricultural research community is to relate these findings to the broader societal concern with food security. This paper reviews the direct effects of climate on both crop growth and yield and on plant pests and pathogens and the interactions that may occur between crops, pests, and pathogens under changed climate. Finally, we consider the contribution that better understanding of the roles of pests and pathogens in crop production systems might make to enhanced food security. Evidence for the measured climate change on crops and their associated pests and pathogens is starting to be documented. Globally atmospheric [CO(2)] has increased, and in northern latitudes mean temperature at many locations has increased by about 1.0-1.4 degrees C with accompanying changes in pest and pathogen incidence and to farming practices. Many pests and pathogens exhibit considerable capacity for generating, recombining, and selecting fit combinations of variants in key pathogenicity, fitness, and aggressiveness traits that there is little doubt that any new opportunities resulting from climate change will be exploited by them. However, the interactions between crops and pests and pathogens are complex and poorly understood in the context of climate change. More mechanistic inclusion of pests and pathogen effects in crop models would lead to more realistic predictions of crop production on a regional scale and thereby assist in the development of more robust regional food security policies.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared the environmental impacts of spring barley cultivation in Denmark under current (year 2010) and future (year 2050) climatic conditions, and found that the impacts for all impact categories, except human and freshwater eco-toxicity, are higher when the barley is produced under climatic circumstances representative for 2050.
24 citations
CABI1
01 Apr 2013-Cab Reviews: Perspectives in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Nutrition and Natural Resources
TL;DR: This review is based in part on a report that the authors prepared for the Commission on Genetic Resources for Agriculture (CGRFA), at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, on climate change and invertebrate genetic resources for food and agriculture.
Abstract: This review is based in part on a report that the authors prepared for the Commission on Genetic Resources for Agriculture (CGRFA), at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, on climate change and invertebrate genetic resources for food and agriculture [277]. We thank Kim-Anh Tempelman and colleagues at the CGRFA for their interest, support and encouragement in preparing that report. We also thank Peter S. Baker (CABI), John Kean (AgResearch Ltd, New Zealand), Graham Walker (The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited), and Craig Phillips (AgResearch Ltd, New Zealand), who contributed Case Studies as indicated; Joop van Lenteren (Wageningen University, The Netherlands), Peter Baker and several anonymous scientists of the CGRFA and FAO who reviewed parts of a draft of the report from which this review was derived; and Rebecca J Murphy (UK) and Dafydd Pilling (FAO) for editorial inputs to that report.
23 citations
Cites background from "Integrating pests and pathogens int..."
...This is not to deny that some effects of climate change may be beneficial, but the detrimental effects referred to above suggest that, at the very least, ‘pest and pathogen attacks are likely to be more unpredictable and the amplitude larger’ [10]....
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Book•
10 Apr 2013
TL;DR: The increasing resilience to climate change in the agricultural sector report presents local-level priorities, informed by stakeholder input, to build agricultural resilience in both Jordan and Lebanon as discussed by the authors, and develops local and regional climate change action plans that formulate recommendations for investment strategies and strategic interventions in local agricultural systems.
Abstract: The increasing resilience to climate change in the agricultural sector report presents local-level priorities, informed by stakeholder input, to build agricultural resilience in both countries. The objectives of this study were threefold: (1) to improve the understanding of climate change projections and impacts on rural communities and livelihoods in selected regions of Jordan and Lebanon, specifically the Jordan River Valley and Lebanon's Bekaa Valley; (2) to engage local communities, farmers, local experts, and local and national government representatives in a participatory fashion in helping craft agricultural adaptation options to climate change; and (3) to develop local and regional climate change action plans that formulate recommendations for investment strategies and strategic interventions in local agricultural systems. The climate challenges confronting development in the Middle East are particularly stark. This region, and in particular its rural people, face what might be called a `triple threat` from climate change. First, the Middle East is already one of the driest and most water-scarce regions of the world (World Bank 2011) and faces severe challenges posed by high temperatures and limited water supplies. This report to assist Jordan and Lebanon in understanding the specific challenges and opportunities posed by climate change in the agricultural sector.
23 citations
01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: The EB method can contribute to the development of cropping systems with greater resilience and yield stability in the climate change era, and mimic natural ecolog- ical communities.
Abstract: The genetic uniformity within, and typified by, most monocultural cereal-based systems has been shown to limit the crops’ capacity to evolve in response to adverse environmental conditions, thereby leading to a possible decrease in the yield stability of the cropping system. Deployment of significantly increased crop diversity across the global landscape has the potential to reduce the progress of crop epidemics, optimize yield stability, and positively enhance crop resilience in the ever-changing visage of climate-induced stress. One method of increasing genetic diversity within cereal crop populations is through evolutionary breeding (EB). In EB populations of self-pollinating cereals, natural selection acts upon the heterogeneous mixture of genotypes over generations and across environments and traits positively correlated to reproductive capacity increase over time. Crop populations with enhanced genetic diversity mimic natural ecological communities, which are better equipped to adapt to future unpredictable temporal climate shifts than are monocultures. Evolutionary participatory breeding merges the EB method with farmer selection to develop high-yielding, disease-resistant cultivars while maintaining a high degree of genetic variation to allow for adaptability to fluctuations in environmental conditions. The EB method can contribute to the development of cropping systems with greater resilience and yield stability in the climate change era.
22 citations
Cites background from "Integrating pests and pathogens int..."
...Each year, plant diseases account for global harvest losses of approximately 10–16 % (Oerke 2006), and disease resistance in cultivars of wheat, oats, rice, tobacco, and sunflower have been shown to be differentially affected by temperature (Gregory et al. 2009)....
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...The effectiveness of currently deployed resistance genes has been shown to be compromised, over- or underexpressed when faced with more extreme and variable climatic conditions (Gregory et al. 2009)....
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...There is much reported unpredictability in future global agriculture due to the considerable variability within and between countries, with some areas potentially benefiting, and others suffering from, climate change (Jones and Thornton 2003; Gregory et al. 2009)....
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...One way to combat this issue is to deploy inter- and intraspecific crop diversity across the landscape, thereby reducing the progress of crop epidemics and optimizing yield stability (Gregory et al. 2009)....
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References
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01 Jan 2007
TL;DR: The first volume of the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report as mentioned in this paper was published in 2007 and covers several topics including the extensive range of observations now available for the atmosphere and surface, changes in sea level, assesses the paleoclimatic perspective, climate change causes both natural and anthropogenic, and climate models for projections of global climate.
Abstract: This report is the first volume of the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report. It covers several topics including the extensive range of observations now available for the atmosphere and surface, changes in sea level, assesses the paleoclimatic perspective, climate change causes both natural and anthropogenic, and climate models for projections of global climate.
32,826 citations
Book•
01 Jul 2001
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors set the stage for impact, adaptation, and vulnerability assessment of climate change in the context of sustainable development and equity, and developed and applied scenarios in Climate Change Impact, Adaptation, and Vulnerability Assessment.
Abstract: Summary for policymakers Technical summary Part I. Setting the Stage for Impact, Adaptation, and Vulnerability Assessment: 1. Overview 2. Methods and tools 3. Development and application of scenarios in Climate Change Impact, Adaptation, and Vulnerability Assessment Part II. Sectors and Systems: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability: 4. Hydrology and water resources 5. Natural and managed ecosystems 6. Coastal zones and marine ecosystems 7. Energy, industry, and settlements 8. Financial services 9. Human health Part III. Regional Analyses: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability: 10. Africa 11. Asia 12. Australasia 13. Europe 14. Latin America 15. North America 16. Polar regions (Arctic and Antarctic) 17. Small island states Part IV. Global Issues and Synthesis: 18. Adaptation to climate change in the context of sustainable development and equity 19. Synthesis and integration of impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability Index.
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Book•
01 Jan 2007
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a cross-chapter case study on climate change and sustainability in natural and managed systems and assess key vulnerabilities and the risk from climate change, and assess adaptation practices, options, constraints and capacity.
Abstract: Foreword Preface Introduction Summary for policymakers Technical summary 1. Assessment of observed changes and responses in natural and managed systems 2. New assessment methodologies and the characterisation of future conditions 3. Fresh water resources and their management 4. Ecosystems, their properties, goods and services 5. Food, fibre and forest products 6. Coastal systems and low-lying areas 7. Industry, settlement and society 8. Human health 9. Africa 10. Asia 11. Australia and New Zealand 12. Europe 13. Latin America 14. North America 15. Polar regions (Arctic and Antarctic) 16. Small islands 17. Assessment of adaptation practices, options, constraints and capacity 18. Inter-relationships between adaptation and mitigation 19. Assessing key vulnerabilities and the risk from climate change 20. Perspectives on climate change and sustainability - 811 Cross-chapter case studies Appendix I. Glossary Appendix II. Contributors to the IPCC WGII Fourth Assessment Report Appendix III. Reviewers of the IPCC WGII Fourth Assessment Report Appendix IV. Acronyms and abbreviations Appendix V. Index and database of regional content Index CD-ROM.
8,465 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a document, redatto, voted and pubblicato by the Ipcc -Comitato intergovernativo sui cambiamenti climatici - illustra la sintesi delle ricerche svolte su questo tema rilevante.
Abstract: Cause, conseguenze e strategie di mitigazione Proponiamo il primo di una serie di articoli in cui affronteremo l’attuale problema dei mutamenti climatici. Presentiamo il documento redatto, votato e pubblicato dall’Ipcc - Comitato intergovernativo sui cambiamenti climatici - che illustra la sintesi delle ricerche svolte su questo tema rilevante.
4,187 citations