Crop Adaptation to Climate Change (ePub)

A major task of our time is to ensure adequate food supplies for
the world's current population (now nearing 7 billion) in a
sustainable way while protecting the vital functions and biological
diversity of the global environment. The task of providing for a
growing population is likely to be even more difficult in view of
actual and potential changes in climatic conditions due to global
warming, and as the population continues to grow. Current
projections suggest that the world's temperatures will rise 1.8-4.0
by 2100 and population may reach 8 billion by the year 2025 and
some 9 billion by mid-century, after which it may stabilize. This
book addresses these critical issues by presenting the science
needed not only to understand climate change effects on crops but
also to adapt current agricultural systems, particularly in regard
to genetics, to the changing conditions.

Crop Adaptation to Climate Change covers a spectrum of
issues related to both crops and climatic conditions. The first two
sections provide a foundation on the factors involved in climate
stress, assessing current climate change by region and covering
crop physiological responses to these changes. The third and final
section contains chapters focused on specific crops and the current
research to improve their genetic adaptation to climate change.

Written by an international team of authors, Crop Adaptation
to Climate Change is a timely look at the potentially serious
consequences of climate change for our global food supply, and is
an essential resource for academics, researchers and professionals
in the fields of crop science, agronomy, plant physiology and
molecular biology; crop consultants and breeders; as well as
climate and food scientists.