Further Global Warming Heightens Risks To Food Crops - Study
below is the start of a report on sciencedaily.com published last Wednesday by Aalto University, a public research university based in Finland.
AALTO UNIVERSITY:
"World's critical food crops at imminent risk from rising temperatures
"Global food security could be notably impacted by marked decline in crop diversity if temps rise by more than 1.5°C
"Summary :A new study offers a more precise picture of exactly where and how warming will affect our ability to grow food.
"Global food security could be notably impacted by a marked decline in crop diversity if temperatures rise by more than 1.5°C, reveals new research.
"Global warming is already reshaping our daily lives, with storms, floods, wildfires and droughts around the world. As temperatures continue to rise, a third of global food production could be at risk.
"Now, a new study in Nature Food offers a more precise picture of exactly where and how warming will affect our ability to grow food
"Researchers at Aalto University studied how future changes in temperature, precipitation and aridity will affect growing conditions of 30 major food crop species across the globe.
"They found that low-latitude regions face significantly worse consequences than mid- or high-latitudes. Depending on the level of warming, up to half of the crop production in low-latitude areas would be at risk as climate conditions become unsuitable for production. At the same time, those regions would also see a large drop in crop diversity.'The loss of diversity means that the range of food crops available for cultivation could decrease significantly in certain areas. That would reduce food security and make it more difficult to get adequate calories and protein,' says Sara Heikonen, the doctoral researcher who led the study.
"Up to half of the world's food crop production may be affected
"Warming will severely decrease the amount of global cropland available for staple crops -- rice, maize, wheat, potato and soybean -- which account for over two-thirds of the world's food energy intake .
"In addition, 'tropical root crops such as yam, which are key to food security in low-income regions, as well as cereals and pulses are particularly vulnerable. In sub-Saharan Africa, the region which would be impacted most, almost three quarters of current production is at risk if global warming exceeds 3°C,' Heikonen says."
