Livestock Under Climate Change: A Systematic Review of Impacts and Adaptation

Abstract

Abstract:We conducted a systematic literature review to document the scientific knowledge about climate change impacts and adaptation in livestock systems, and to identify research gaps. The analysis was built from the premise that livestock offers substantial opportunities for food security and sustainable development if adaptation to climate change is appropriated. In examining 126 suitable peer-reviewed publications we discovered five research gaps: (1) a lack of research in Asia and South America; (2) a lack of mutual investigation and linkages between impacts and adaptation; (3) a lack of emphasis on mixed crop-livestock systems; (4) a lack of emphasis on monogastric livestock; and (5) an underrepresentation of quantitative methods including yield impact models. The findings suggest that the research on climate change impacts and adaptation in livestock systems needs to move beyond certain geographical contexts and consider key vulnerability priorities, particularly from developing countries. It is pivotal that research begins to jointly look at climate change impacts and the livestock keepers' adaptation to draw out policy implications and to effectively target support for impact-specific adaptation options. Only if such evidence is established, adaptation will be appropriated accordingly to the needs of the livestock sector, and provision for the growing demand of animal-based products will be secured.

Defining the Sharing Economy for Sustainability

“…Computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS), such as NVivo, is particularly useful when working with large amounts of textual data to engage in the above coding processes in a systematic way [65]. Furthermore, NVivo is a useful tool to conduct literature reviews [60,[68][69][70][71], especially when engaging in an analytical task [60], such as synthesising the definitions of the sharing economy across academic literature. Furthermore, NVivo seeks to reduce human error during the coding process as well as analyse the data across multiple categories [71].…”

The impact of short-term acute heat stress on the rumen microbiome of Hanwoo steers

“…According to assessment reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the increasing greenhouse gas emissions are leading to an increase in the rise of global mean temperatures, from 1.8℃ in 1980-1999 to 4.1℃ in 2090-2099 based on the climate models [1]. Because livestock systems are greatly affected by environmental conditions, livestock production is under increasing pres-sure from climate change due to it causing heat stress in the animals [2]. Heat stress is an environmental factor that negatively affects cattle by reducing their feed intake, which ultimately decreases their metabolic heat production and productivity [3].…”

100 Questions in Livestock Helminthology Research

“…Differentiating climate change from other forces and proving its role in parasite range expansion is not straightforward, either for apparently emerging parasites such as the rumen fluke Calicophoron daubneyi [23] or for other helminths, and this undermines attempts to predict future challenges to farming. Given the multiple interacting factors that drive parasite epidemiology, research should embed parasitic disease in wider studies of climate change mitigation and adaptation in livestock and mixed agricultural systems [24].…”