84
A. Chanda et al.
agenda for sustainable development. This goal addresses the target action to combat
climate change and its impact to improve the lives of people around the globe (www.
un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climate-change-2/).
The estimated increase in temperature is expected to exceed 3 °C this century.
An action plan was adopted upon Paris Agreement that took place in 2015. The
implementation of the Paris Agreement was perceived as crucial step to fulfill the
sustainable development goals by providing a roadmap to “reduce emissions and
provide climate resilience”. An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [1] was
formed back in 1988 upon the recommendation of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). IPCC has
released until now, five assessment reports that cover the scientific, technical and
socio-economic impacts of climate change. Currently, the IPCC is working on their
sixth assessment report and three special reports to suggest ways for policymakers
to mitigate the impact. Climate change impact and mitigation is not only a political decision, but it also requires the intervention of scientific research to study the
phenomena, help draw a clearer picture and suggest innovative scientific solutions.
Therefore, it has been placed among the top priority societal challenges in the Horizon 2020 competitive call for proposals addressed by the European Commission (EC
www.ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/).
The effect of climate change on agriculture has specifically become a global issue
due to the ever-growing need to provide food security and end hunger. The impact
is on the whole agro-ecosystem from crops and livestock to fisheries, which in turn
can affect economic stability [2]. Implications of climate change on agriculture is
not only due to effects on plants but also due to effects on biogeochemical properties
of the soil on which they grow. An important consequence of changing climate is
its impact on the microorganisms present in the agricultural soil. Not only does the
climate-mediated changes in microbiota and their behaviors reduce food productivity
but it extends to food safety, human health and economy when soil microbiota turn
toxigenic under environmental influence.
Fungi are the primary decomposers in the soil. Hence it is implicative that changes
in temperature and precipitation will change the diversity and functionality of fungal
communities. Hence to find a solution, one has to step back and study the impact.
From this standpoint, this chapter aims to review the current knowledge on the
impacts of climate change on soil fungi diversity and activity from stress-inducing
perspective. The review also addresses the recent initiative by the Egyptian Ministry
of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MHESR) to encourage researchers to
find solutions to overcome climate change impacts such as forecasting of future
changes in diversity and food productivity, detecting potential natural disasters,
changing building codes, protecting coasts and delta region. Climate change is at the
top of environmental priorities stated in the National strategy for scientific research
for Egypt.
A. Chanda et al.
agenda for sustainable development. This goal addresses the target action to combat
climate change and its impact to improve the lives of people around the globe (www.
un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climate-change-2/).
The estimated increase in temperature is expected to exceed 3 °C this century.
An action plan was adopted upon Paris Agreement that took place in 2015. The
implementation of the Paris Agreement was perceived as crucial step to fulfill the
sustainable development goals by providing a roadmap to “reduce emissions and
provide climate resilience”. An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [1] was
formed back in 1988 upon the recommendation of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). IPCC has
released until now, five assessment reports that cover the scientific, technical and
socio-economic impacts of climate change. Currently, the IPCC is working on their
sixth assessment report and three special reports to suggest ways for policymakers
to mitigate the impact. Climate change impact and mitigation is not only a political decision, but it also requires the intervention of scientific research to study the
phenomena, help draw a clearer picture and suggest innovative scientific solutions.
Therefore, it has been placed among the top priority societal challenges in the Horizon 2020 competitive call for proposals addressed by the European Commission (EC
www.ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/).
The effect of climate change on agriculture has specifically become a global issue
due to the ever-growing need to provide food security and end hunger. The impact
is on the whole agro-ecosystem from crops and livestock to fisheries, which in turn
can affect economic stability [2]. Implications of climate change on agriculture is
not only due to effects on plants but also due to effects on biogeochemical properties
of the soil on which they grow. An important consequence of changing climate is
its impact on the microorganisms present in the agricultural soil. Not only does the
climate-mediated changes in microbiota and their behaviors reduce food productivity
but it extends to food safety, human health and economy when soil microbiota turn
toxigenic under environmental influence.
Fungi are the primary decomposers in the soil. Hence it is implicative that changes
in temperature and precipitation will change the diversity and functionality of fungal
communities. Hence to find a solution, one has to step back and study the impact.
From this standpoint, this chapter aims to review the current knowledge on the
impacts of climate change on soil fungi diversity and activity from stress-inducing
perspective. The review also addresses the recent initiative by the Egyptian Ministry
of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MHESR) to encourage researchers to
find solutions to overcome climate change impacts such as forecasting of future
changes in diversity and food productivity, detecting potential natural disasters,
changing building codes, protecting coasts and delta region. Climate change is at the
top of environmental priorities stated in the National strategy for scientific research
for Egypt.