Month: May 2018

The atmospheric concentration of CO2 is rising from a pre-industrial value of 280 ppm,it has now topped 400 ppm and has been rising by about 2 ppm per year for the last decade. These atmospheric CO2 levels are projected to increase further in the coming years (Ciais et al., 2014). As a result, there is a need to review the correlation that may exist between crops and the rising CO2 levels as this may affect the productivity and availability of forage crops. The effect of the increasing CO2 concentrations on plants is not a clear cut as research shows a wide variation in the long-term response of plant species to elevated CO2 levels (Lüscher et al., 1997). It should also be noted that the rate of photosynthesis is not only regulated by C02 but there are also environmental factors adding to the CO2 concentration(Kirschbaum, 1994, Kramer, 1981).(Wand et al., 1999) showed that elevated CO2 levels encourage an increase in leaf biomass and leaf area, with an increase of 33% and 44% for C3 and C4 plants respectively. This was in agreement with the findings of (Xie et al., 2015). However,(Milchunas, 2005) reported a decrease in the crude protein yield of C4 species and an increase in the crude protein yield of C3 species under elevated CO2.Taken together, these findings are an indication that the increasing atmospheric CO2 levels are most likely to affect livestock production through reducing forage quality.

Side Note: Check out the referenced articles on my "Bibliography".

Climate change will continue to alter rainfall distribution, lead to temperature increases and cause drought and floods (IPCC, 2012). This changing climate will negatively impact livestock systems through decreasing the quality and quantity of forage crops, thereby affecting the health and nutrition of livestock significantly (Fischer et al., 2002). Smallholder farmers in East Africa are particularly vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change, primarily because they are in the tropics, their livelihoods and incomes depend on the productivity of livestock and they lack resources and policies which enhance their capacity to adapt to climate change (Morton, 2007).