Agroecosystems in a Changing Climate considers the consequences of changes in the atmosphere and climate on the integrity, stability, and productivity of agroecosystems.

Features:

• Analyzes how global changes affect the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and hydrology, and how this may ultimately impact agricultural ecosystems
• Focuses on the mechanisms governing the changes in nutrients and water demands of C3 and C4 crops to elevated (CO2)
• Discusses the unique processes of grazed agroecosystems, particularly nutrient cycling, and explores the sensitivity to climate change associated with them
• Reviews results from both experimental and modeling studies on water and nitrogen use of cropping systems in relation to climatic change
• Includes discussions of the effects of climate change on the dynamics and persistence of plant populations
• Examines individual species' responses to climate change in the context of multispecies interactions
• Defines what is meant by adaptation, as opposed to acclimation, and covers why this distinction is important

Contents

Resource Supply and Demand

• Climate Change Effects on Biogeochemical Cycles, Nutrients, and Water Supply
• Nutrient and Water Demands of Plants under Global Climate Change
• Climate Change and Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in Agroecosystems
• Belowground Food Webs in a Changing Climate
• Herbivory and Nutrient Cycling
• Sustainability of Crop Production Systems under Climate Change
• Special Example 1: Impacts of Climate Change on Marginal Tropical Animal Production Systems

Pests, Weeds, and Diseases

• Plant Performance and Implications for Plant Population Dynamics and Species Composition in a Changing Climate
• Climate Change Effects on Fungi in Agroecosystems
• Trophic Interactions and Climate Change
• Future Weed, Pest, and Disease Problems for Plants
• Special Example 2: Climate Change and Biological Control
• Special Example 3: Efficacy of Herbicides under Elevated Temperature and CO2

Capacity to Adapt

• Distinguishing between Acclimation and Adaptation, M.J. Hovenden
• Plant Breeding for a Changing Environment, P.C.D. Newton and G.R. Edwards
• Special Example 4: Evolution of Pathogens Under Elevated CO2, S. Chakraborty
• Special Example 5: Adapting U.K. Agriculture to Climate Change

Index

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