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Climate Change: Agriculture and Mycorrhiza

Nitin Kumar* & Navneet Kumar Mishra
Department of Botany, Patna University, Patna, Bihar, India
Received : 26th April, 2020 ; Revised : 25th May, 2020

Abstract- Climate change is the global phenomenon of climate transformation characterized by the changes in the usual climate of the planet that are especially caused by human activities. It is the difference in the Earth’s global climate or in regional climates over time. Shifting of seasons, increasing global temperatures rising sea levels, changing agricultural patterns have resulted in frequent disasters like landslides, tsunamis, drought, famine, population migration and major health hazards not just for us but also our children and grandchildren. Climate change has already increased the volatility of prices of agricultural commodities. Human induced transformation of Earth’s ecosystem has strongly affected distribution patterns of plant – fungus symbiosis known as mycorrhiza. Most plant species form symbiosis with various fungi, in which fungi provide plants with nutrients, while the plant provide carbon to the fungi. In, general studies have found that elevated atmospheric CO2 enhances the abundance and activity of mycorrhizal fungi, particularly in relation to the production of Spore – bearing structures, while warmer temperatures increase fungal abundance but decrease activities such as soil nutrient transfer to plants. In terms of the global carbon cycle, mycorrhizal fungi could also prove to play a critical role in carbon sequestration in soils. Mycorrhizal fungi reduced plant stress and increase productivity during drought, so the effect of fungal shifts in plant community dynamics is likely to be important; directly linked with tree tolerance to climate change. An uncommon opportunity now exists for converting a potential calamity like climate change into a food for achieving the goal of sustainable agriculture.

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