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Title: Preface to book entitled: Managing Agricultural Greenhouse Gases: Coordinated Agricultural Research through GRACEnet to Address our Changing Climate

Author
item Follett, Ronald
item Liebig, Mark
item Franzluebbers, Alan

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/13/2012
Publication Date: 6/8/2012
Citation: Follett, R.F., Liebig, M.A., Franzluebbers, A.J. 2012. Preface to book entitled: Managing Agricultural Greenhouse Gases: Coordinated Agricultural Research through GRACEnet to Address our Changing Climate. New York, NY: E;sevier Inc. p. xi - xiii.

Interpretive Summary: Global climate change will impose several human, economic, and environmental costs that are country or region specific. The approach of an asset portfolio is proposed to allow ‘adaptation resources’ to be considered for a range of scales depending upon need. These resources can be adapted and modified to address anticipated climate change conditions for each region or country. Asset portfolio items important to adaptation include: land, water, energy, infrastructure, genetic resources, research and technology capacity, information technology, human resources, political institutions, and access to markets and trade. Successful adaptation to Global Climate Change may require recognition of all of these assets.

Technical Abstract: Atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range, a natural process that regulates the temperature of the Earth. Long-term changes in GHG emission could negatively or positively affect global surface temperature (USGCRP, 2009). The abatement of climate change is one of the most pressing modern-day environmental issues (IPCC, 2007) and raises dire concerns about global warming and its associated impacts on agriculture (CAST, 2011) and key ecosystem functions. Although a view still exists among some that global climate change associated with increases in atmospheric GHGs from human activity is not occurring, evidence to the affirmative has been documented for decades.