Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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1600
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Time (thousands of years before present)
fIguRe 16.1
Deuterium (δD) variations in Antarctic ice (an estimator of local tempera-
tures) and atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO
2
), methane
(CH
4
), and nitrous oxide (N
2
O) in air trapped inside ice cylinders and in recent atmospheric
samples. The data span 650,000 years. The shaded bands indicate previous and current inter-
glacial warm periods. (From Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2007, In:
Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the
Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
S. Solomon,
D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor, and H.L. Miller, Eds.
New York: Cambridge University Press, with permission from IPCC).
this century are projected to induce profound changes in agriculture production sys-
tems worldwide. The purpose of this chapter is to review and discuss the impacts of
climate change on agriculture, the needs for adaptation to climate change, and the
opportunities offered by agriculture to mitigate climate change. The review of the
literature is not exhaustive; rather, it is restricted to the subjects needed to facilitate
or illustrate the discussion of the topics presented in the chapter.
clImAte chAnge ImPActs on AgRIcultuRe
P
L a n t
g
r o w t h
u n D e r
e
L e v a t e D
Co
2
As photoautotrophic organisms, plants are able to use solar energy to convert CO
2
into sugars and utilize this chemically stored energy to fulfill processes of growth
and development. Plants use this energy for maintenance and growth, and during this
process (known as
respiration
) they consume O
2
and generate CO
2
, which is emit-
ted back to the atmosphere. The difference between photosynthesis and respiration
is known as
net primary productivity
(NPP), of which, in the case of domesticated
