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U.S. Water Conservation Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Phoenix, AZ 85040
(bkimball{at}uswcl.ars.ag.gov)
Seth G. Pritchard and Jeffrey S. Amthor, Food Products Press, an imprint of The Haworth Press, Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580. 2005. 421 p. $49.95 paperback. ISBN 1-56022-913-6.
Several environmental factors are changing that may affect the productivity of agricultural crops in the future. Atmospheric CO2 concentrations are increasing on a global scale, and temperatures are warming as well. On more regional and local scales, ozone concentrations and soil salinity levels are also increasing in various places. In this book, authors Pritchard and Amthor have accomplished an impressive task. They have addressed not just one but all four of these important aspects of environmental change—increasing temperature, CO2, O3, and soil salinization—on crop physiology and yield.
Besides an introduction and a chapter, "Methods of Studying Effects on Environmental Change on Crops," each of the four variables is discussed in seven chapters: "Cellular Responses," "Water Relations," "Photosynthesis, Respiration, and Biosynthesis," "Partitioning of Photosynthate," "Mineral Nutrition," "Vegetative Growth and Development," and "Sexual Reproduction, Grain Yield, and Grain Quality." A final chapter, "The Biotic Environment," discusses effects on weeds, insect pests and diseases, and symbiotic relationships with soil organisms.
Each of the seven central chapters begins with a basic, yet fairly detailed, description of the processes and concepts involved, often including a box defining important terms. The combined first sections of each of these chapters could be an excellent textbook on crop physiology. Then, the authors go on to present what is known about the likely effects each of the four variables—increased temperature, CO2, O3, and salinization, as well as their interactions—may have on the particular processes. For each case, they cite up-to-date pertinent literature. Also, they have compiled tables of relative crop physiological responses for several crops to the four variables extracted from the available literature.
All of the chapters end with a summary of about two pages which provides an excellent overview of the concepts and conclusions contained therein. A compilation of these summaries would be an excellent resource for policymakers and others who do not have the time or desire to read the whole book.
This is primarily a book about environmental effects on crops, and except for salinity, other soil processes that play a role in global change related to agriculture are not included. For example, neither soil carbon sequestration nor trace gas emissions (i.e., CH4, N2O) are discussed.
The book is well written. I found the language easy to understand, and the organization was logical and easy to follow. I highly recommend this book to graduate students or scientists contemplating or doing research on the likely effects of environmental change on agricultural crops. Because each chapter begins with an excellent description of the processes and factors involved, not much prior knowledge is required, so this book could serve as the text for upper-level undergraduate as well as graduate courses on the topic of global change and agriculture.
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