Course

By the end of this unit you should:

- have gained an understanding of the debated and projected scenarios of climate change;

- have gained an understanding from research of the impact of elevated CO₂ on leaf and root growth;

- have learned about the possible impact of elevated CO₂ and high temperatures on field growth crops, e.g. spring wheat, in terms of above and below ground biomass;

- be able to determine possible seasonal responses to the effect of elevated CO₂ and temperature with reference to perennial ryegrass;

- understand what impact episodes of high temperature and drought might have on crops under conditions of future climate change, with reference to seed yield in soybean;

- have developed an understanding about which stages of crop development are particularly susceptible to climatic extremes and what scientists are doing to determine future responses.