ABSTRACT
The world’s population is estimated to reach 9.2 billion by 2050. Over this period, agricultural production must increase by 70 percent to keep pace with increasing food demand (FAO, 2009; FAO, 2013). More than 95 percent of global food comes from land, so an adequate global food supply depends predominantly on the continued availability of productive soils. However, quality soils are not guaranteed without additional efforts (van Beek et al., 2014). In addition, ongoing climate change has increased alterations of weather patterns, affecting soil moisture availability and bringing associated consequences for diseases and pest incidences (e.g. Ben Mohamed et al., 2002). By 2050, climate change is expected to negatively impact at least 22 percent of the cultivated areas of the world’s important crops, notably rice and wheat (Campbell et al., 2011), and increase global warming. Global warming is caused by increased atmospheric concentrations of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs), mainly carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O).
