Climate Change and Ecosystems: Challenges to Sustainable Development

The  global population is projected to increase by 3.3 billion from 6.7  billion in 2008 to 10 billion in 2100. As a result, soil degradation and  desertification are growing due to the increasing demand for food,  feed, fiber, and fuel on finite soil resources. The problem of global  food insecurity may be further worsened by the threat of global warming.  Climate change is showing its impacts in terms of increasing  temperatures, variable rainfall, and an increase in climate-related  extremes such as floods, droughts, cyclones, sea-level rise, salinity,  and soil erosion. The agriculture sector is the most sensitive to  climate change because the climate of a region/country determines the  nature and characteristics of vegetation and crops. Increase in the mean  seasonal temperature and decrease in effective precipitation can reduce  the duration of many crops, may lead to outbreaks of pests and  diseases, and hence reduce final yield ultimately affecting the food  security of the country. Despite the positive impact of CO2  fertilization, the net productivity may decrease because of an increase  in respiration rate, drought stress, and nutrient deficiency. For  example, for every 75 ppm increase in CO2 concentration, rice yields  will increase by 0.5 t/ha, but the yield will decrease by 0.6 t/ha for  every 1°C increase in temperature. The global agricultural productivity  is expected to decrease from 3% to 16% by 2080. The estimated decrease  in agricultural productivity in the developing countries is 10%–25% in  the 2080s, where average air temperature is already near or above crop  tolerance levels. This book is intended to serve as a stimulating  collection that will contribute to debate and reflection on the  sustainable future of agriculture and food production in the face of  global change.

Features:

• This  book brings together a multidimensional group of international scholars  exploring the ethical dimensions of climate change and ecosystem.
• New strategies have been pointed out in this book for better sustainable development.
• This  book has been designed to provide a good overview of major challenges  facing policymakers, researchers, and ultimately humankind in dealing  with climate change.
• This  book summarizes the diverse features of vulnerability, adaptation, and  amelioration of climate change in respect to plants, crops, soil, and  microbes for the sustainability of the agricultural sector, and,  ultimately, food security for the future.
• This  book provides a state-of-the-art description of the physiological,  biochemical, and molecular status of the understanding of abiotic stress  in plants.