Rice, wheat and some other crops have been proven to increase in yield at higher carbon dioxide concentrations, and another staple to diet in Africa and Asia, the sweet potato, follows this trend.
The IPCC predicts carbon dioxide concentration to rise to 500-1000ppm by 2100. If, at a mid estimate, it increases to 750ppm then sweet potatoes will almost double in size! This could be fantastic news for the people who rely on them, but tests still need to be done to see if their nutrition also increases in proportion. Otherwise it will simply mean having to consume double the volume of sweet potatoes to receive the same amount of nutrients from half that amount today.
Huge sweet potatoes! Would be interested to know if the nutrition does increase proportionally as you wondered.
ReplyDeleteObviously more research would have to be undertaken to determine whether results such as this from increases in carbon dioxide can at all negate the expected negative effects. Also with more research might this be a technique that could be utilised for higher-yield farming?