Beed, and 6 co-authors, reported in 2012 that This technical study focuses on the role of micro-organism genetic resources for food and agriculture under a changing climate. Micro-organisms form the basis of most ecosystems on which agriculture and food production depend. Put simply, agriculture and food production would not exist without this ―hidden‖ but critically important biodiversity. Micro-organisms play essential roles that in this study are separated into five interlinked functional domains: soil inhabitants, plant and rhizosphere inhabitants, plant pathogens, biological control agents and food production micro-organisms. The scope of this study is vast as a consequence of the unrivalled diversity of micro-organism genetic resources for food and agriculture, and the correspondingly huge variety of functions they confer – largely beneficial, but also some harmful to agriculture. By virtue of this diversity, large hitherto untapped opportunities exist for using micro-organisms to improve the efficiency of food and agriculture, including buffering, adapting to
and mitigating climate change effects.
Micro-organism genetic resources for food and agriculture control ecosystem functions and services and therefore crop productivity and quality. Some can cause crop diseases leading to severe food shortages and famines. However, micro-organisms that cause disease on weeds and insect pests have a positive influence on agriculture and can be used as biopesticides. Many beneficial micro-organisms are linked with plants in the soil, where they induce resistance or perform biological control functions. Free-living soil-borne micro-organisms contribute to the formation and structure of soil, the storage of nutrients and carbon sequestration. Those acting in association with crop plants further regulate soil fertility and the accessibility of nutrients. Soil micro-organisms are also responsible for bioremediation of polluted sites by restoring soil fertility. Once food is produced, microorganisms are relied upon for its conservation and transformation. However, a constraint to realizing the potential of micro-organism genetic resources for agriculture is the urgent need for fundamental advances to better characterize their taxonomy, function and interactions.
Demand for food is set to increase by 70 percent as the world population increases to a predicted 9 billion by 2050. Meeting this demand requires drastic changes to the manner in which agriculture is managed. These changes will be particularly important in developing countries, where population increases are expected to be the greatest and where crop yields are still far below attainable yields. It is logical and important to focus on organisms, such as micro-organisms, that are critical to the performance of food and agriculture and to achieving the required changes in agricultural production. Climate change will act as an additional driver of change in agricultural systems as environmental conditions are altered drastically.
As a consequence of the vital functions that micro-organism genetic resources for food and agriculture confer, they can be considered as pivotal to sustainable agriculture when challenged by such drivers of change. Because the performance of plants is directly linked to interactions with micro organisms, future strategies to counteract negative effects of climate change will need to involve more than simply deploying crop plants in environments to which they are well adapted. Rather, synergy between crop germplasm and micro-organism genetic resources must be sought and exploited to ensure that ecosystem services – such as nutrient cycling, supporting the soil food web, imparting ecosystem resilience, transforming food and protecting it from spoilage, and controlling pests, diseases and weeds – are achieved.
Climate change will drive changes in the distribution and performance of micro-organism genetic resources for agriculture. Although the precise effect of climate change on micro-organism genetic resources for agriculture is unpredictable and complex as a consequence of the array of ecological interactions that exist and the influence of the environment on each, a working knowledge can be readily generated through targeted research, which can highlight gaps and opportunities and thus influence policy, strategy and tactical interventions. Novel methods are now available to characterize microorganism strains, species, communities and interactions, based on genetic and functional analyses. These powerful techniques, when combined with appropriate experimental procedures, benchmark sites and metadata approaches, can improve significantly our understanding of the essential role of microorganisms as indicators of soil health, in ecosystem resilience and in enhancing adaptive capacity of production and post-harvest agriculture to a changing climate. Similarly, micro-organisms that threaten sustainable production can be prioritized based on their potential impact.
Contingency plans can then be made to promote the survival and distribution of those micro-organisms that are beneficial for any given crop or cropping system. Conversely, for those micro-organisms that act antagonistically, systems could be deployed to facilitate their rapid and precise detection as a means of preventing their introduction, establishment or spread. The scale of micro-organism diversity, and hence the multitude of ecosystem functions they perform, dictates that steps must be taken to better characterize this diversity in a targeted manner with focus on key crops, thereby permitting the deployment of crop and micro-organism species that act in synergy.
Climate change, agriculture and energy production are inextricably linked. For example, around 80 percent of deforestation can be attributed to the demand for agricultural land. Deforestation increases greenhouse gas emissions. Micro-organism genetic resources for agriculture can be used to produce
energy directly, facilitate adaptation to climate change and mitigate climate change. As agricultural systems are intensified, due to the demand for more food, and modified, due to climate change, risks from new and emerging diseases increase. This requires careful monitoring and deployment of management strategies. Novel biological control agents can be used to limit the harmful impact of pathogens and pests, obviating the need for energy-expensive pesticides.
Other micro-organisms could also be used to improve the efficiency of intensified agriculture, such as those that store carbon in the soil, and hence prevent the emission of greenhouse gases. The fertility of the soil for any particular cropping system could be enhanced naturally, either by creating conducive conditions for the proliferation of beneficial microorganisms or by introducing them directly into targeted environments. Soil-regulating micro-organisms can be used to manage soil health and ecosystem resilience and to obviate the need for producing and transporting energy-expensive fertilizers. Reducing the application of synthetic fertilizers soils would reduce the generation of greenhouse gases. Micro-organisms also have an important role in the protection and transformation of agricultural produce, post-harvest. They can be used selectively to increase the shelf-life of food, protect foodstuffs from spoilage by other micro-organisms, and minimize the risk of mycotoxin contamination. This in turn would save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with cold packaging, storage and transportation.
Strategies for using micro-organisms for agriculture will require access to and knowledge of microorganism biodiversity. This will need to be facilitated through national, regional and international coordination to pool the existing, limited, human and infrastructural capacities, especially for developing
countries. Optimal conservation techniques that preserve organism characteristics would need to be implemented. Accessions of micro-organisms could then be used for research, training and active deployment to optimize biotic and abiotic interactions for any given cropping system and location. A
major advance would be to establish a global inventory of micro-organism genetic resources for agriculture and the interactive links between the various communities. This would promote better understanding and conservation of processes and groups of micro-organisms responsible for the delivery of ecosystem services.
To link the inventory of micro-organisms to their function in the field, a network of practitioners is needed to monitor their performance and the influence of factors such as crop, climate, soil type and market. State-of-the-art scientific technologies and benchmark experimental sites could be used to generate empirical data to inform policy makers, quantify risks and optimize prediction models. Coordinated efforts employing research, capability development and communication, backed by a robust policy framework are essential for this to happen. International cooperation and coordination between farmers, government institutions, research agencies and living reference collections will be critical in order to characterize and share micro-organism genetic resources for agriculture to support crop production patterns as they move due to climate change.
Leadership is needed from policy-makers and researchers to inform the farming community of the importance of micro-organism genetic resources for agriculture and to empower them to utilize these resources. Empowerment at this grassroots level will deliver direct benefits through the use of participatory approaches to the development of farm management techniques that conserve beneficial micro-organism resources.
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