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: It is confirmed that floods have significantly increased the risks of bacillary dysentery in the study areas and public health preparation and intervention programs should be taken to reduce and prevent a potential risk of b Bacillary Dysentery epidemics after floods.
21 citations
Cites background from "Integrating pests and pathogens int..."
...…in the globalscale climate system may already pose a threat to humans through increased morbidity and mortality caused by heat, cold, drought or rainfalls, changes in air and water quality, and the ecology of infectious diseases (Chou et al., 2010; Semenza and Menne, 2009; Gregory et al., 2009)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed a more complex integrated agricultural and breeding agenda that focuses on livelihood improvement coupled with agro-ecosystem resilience, eco-efficiency and sustainability rather than just on crop productivity gains.
Abstract: The world population is estimated to be 9.2 billion in 2050. To sufficiently feed these people, the total food production will have to increase 60% - 70%. Climate models predict that warmer tem-peratures and increases in the frequency and duration of drought during the present century will have negative impact on agricultural productivity. These new global challenges require a more complex integrated agricultural and breeding agenda that focuses on livelihood improvement coupled with agro-ecosystem resilience, eco-efficiency and sustainability rather than just on crop productivity gains. Intensifying sustainability agro-ecosystems by producing more food with lower inputs, adapting agriculture to climate change, conserving agro-biodiversity through its use, and making markets to work for the small farmers are needed to address the main issues of our time. Plant breeding has played a vital role in the successful development of modern agriculture. Development of new cultivars will be required while reducing the impact of agriculture on the environment and maintaining sufficient production. Conventional plant breeding will remain the backbone of crop improvement strategies. Genetic engineering has the potential to address some of the most challenging biotic constraints faced by farmers, which are not easily addressed through conventional plant breeding alone. Protective measures and laws, especially patenting, must be moderated to eliminate coverage so broad that it stifles innovation. They must be made less restrictive to encourage research and free flow of materials and information. Small farmers have an important role in conserving and using crop biodiversity. Public sector breeding must remain vigorous, especially in areas where the private sector does not function. This will often require benevolent public/private partnerships as well as government support. Active and positive connections between the private and public breeding sectors and large-scale gene banks are required to avoid a possible conflict involving breeders’ rights, gene preservation and erosion. Plant breeding can be a powerful tool to bring “harmony” between agriculture and the environment, but partnerships and cooperation are needed to make this a reality.
21 citations
Cites background from "Integrating pests and pathogens int..."
...Climatic variation and change are already influencing the distribution and virulence of crop pest and diseases, but the interactions between the crops, pests and pathogens are complex and poorly understood in the context of climate change [36]....
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01 Jan 2011
TL;DR: In this article, a scenario for future agrichemical use and attendant environmental problems is drawn through a review of the main climate change-mediated drivers for agrichemicals use, with a focus on land-use changes and changes in pest and disease patterns.
Abstract: Since the implementation of economic reforms in 1986, the Mekong Delta has experienced an extensive transformation process in its agricultural sector. This transformation has been characterized by agricultural intensification, the enhanced use of agrichemicals (fertilizer, pesticides), and emerging concerns for human health and the environment. The predicted impacts of climate change such as sea level rise, greater seasonal variability in precipitation and river flows, and elevated temperature and CO2 concentration will all likely also influence the agricultural landscape and thus agrichemical use. Against the background of the anticipated climate change impacts in the Mekong Delta, this chapter aims to draw a scenario for future agrichemical use and attendant environmental problems. This scenario is achieved through a review of the main climate change-mediated drivers for agrichemical use, with a focus on land-use changes and changes in pest and disease patterns. In addition, the chapter identifies possible adaptation measures that may be implemented by the agricultural sector in the Mekong Delta and explores the potential environmental effects of these adaptation strategies.
21 citations
Dissertation•
01 Jan 2019
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the food security of the Rama indigenous group of Nicaragua who are located in the Caribbean Coast region of Nicaragua, using an adaptation of an Emergency Food Security Assessment (EFSA) tool called the Household Economy Analysis (HEA).
Abstract: Food insecurity affects two billion people worldwide, but food security scholarship and policy has tended to be too focused on the amount of available food, rather than whether populations are able to access and use the available food consistently. Studies have also typically focused on the global or national scale, meaning local issues are sometimes ignored. There is also no consensus on how food security should be measured. This thesis investigates the food security of the Rama indigenous group of Nicaragua who are located in the Caribbean Coast region of Nicaragua. It provides a fine-grained understanding of the determinants of their food security and what affects their vulnerability. It uses an adaptation of an Emergency Food Security Assessment (EFSA) tool called the Household Economy Analysis (HEA) and assesses its usefulness for conducting research of this type. A total of 110 household surveys and 41 semistructured interviews, along with dietary surveys with nine families, were conducted across three Rama communities. The thesis makes three major insights. Firstly, it shows there is considerable heterogeneity within the Rama community meaning there are differences in householdlevel vulnerability to threats. This heterogeneity is partly determined by the geographies of access that households have to natural resources, markets and jobs, as well as differences in cultural values and endowments. Secondly, the thesis shows it is likely that global food insecurity is being underestimated because current measures of food security tend not to capture the nuances of household-level food insecurity. Thirdly, the thesis shows the need for a systems-based approach to food security. Current resilience theory has difficulties taking into account heterogeneity at the household level, meaning important socio-economic and/or environmental factors that can cause household-level inequality are missed. A more holistic, geographically-specific understanding of food security could provide a fruitful approach to trial new conceptions of resilience theory.
20 citations
Cites background from "Integrating pests and pathogens int..."
...Pest infestations are recognised in the literature as being a major threat to food security, particularly due to their connectivity with climate, biodiversity and pesticide resistance (Rosenzweig et al., 2001; Bruce, 2010; Thrupp, 2010; Gregory et al., 2018)....
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TL;DR: Collaborations with social scientists, extension specialists, economists, spatiotemporal modelers, ecologists, and virologists will be required to develop better ways to integrate insect resistant plants into integrated crop pest management programs.
Abstract: Insect-resistant crops feed much of the world, using reduced carbon inputs and providing much greater economic returns on investment. Newer, more efficient efforts are urgently needed to speed development of insect-resistant plants before a projected 30% global population increase. Plant resistance researchers must employ genotyping by sequencing and high-throughput phenotyping to identify, map and track resistance genes. In contrast to maize, rice, vegetables and wheat, limited progress has occurred to develop meaningful levels of pest resistance in cassava, cowpea and pigeonpea - major sources of nutrition for nearly 1 billion people. A knowledge void exists about the effects of climate change (elevated CO2) on resistant plants, necessitating efforts to understand this stress. Collaborations with social scientists, extension specialists, economists, spatiotemporal modelers, ecologists, and virologists will be required to develop better ways to integrate insect resistant plants into integrated crop pest management programs.
20 citations
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.
12,541 citations
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