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Submitted to: Yearbook of Science and Technology
Publication Type: Book / Chapter Publication Acceptance Date: 11/1/1996 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: In order to determine the consequences of present and future global environmental changes on the security of world food production, efforts are underway to determine growth and other physiological responses of major food crops to changing environmental factors. One of the most important of these global changes is the increasing concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) which is expected to double sometime during the next century. Climate modelers have predicted that the elevated CO2 will cause the earth to warm and that precipitation patterns will change. This paper discusses how crop production areas are likely to shift as a consequence of the effects of climate change and the direct effects of CO2 on crop temperatures and on changes in productivity. The increased CO2 likely will increase crop photosynthetic rates, growth, and ultimately plant yields while having little effect on crop water reqirements. This information will help optimize future management strategies and, of course, should ultimately benefit all future food consumers. Technical Abstract: Not applicable |
