Agricultural Biodiversity is Essential for Adapting to Climate Change

The implications of climate change for agriculture have opened a new window in the discussion of agrobiodiversity. Today, the world-wide loss of agricultural biodiversity is mainly caused by changing agricultural practices and production systems along with the so-called industrialisation of agriculture. At present, environmental change is a minor factor reducing the diversity of crops and livestock, but is likely to gain importance. Five climate change related factors can be identified: the rise of temperature, changes in precipitation patterns, the rise of sea levels, increased incidence of extreme weather events and the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, with carbon dioxide being the most prominent.