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Basic Principles Involved in Adaption of Livestock to Climate Change

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Environmental Stress and Amelioration in Livestock Production

Abstract

Animal agriculture accounts for approximately 70% of all agricultural land use and accounts for approximately 40% of the world’s agriculture gross domestic product (GDP), with the livestock sector contributing to the livelihood of over one billion people. Potentially, climate change will have large negative impacts on the livestock production in many countries, especially when the animals used are not adapted to the changed environmental conditions. Determining animal responses to climate change is a challenge. The impacts may be direct, e.g. effects of heat load on animals or indirect, e.g. prolonged droughts. There is a need to select animals (and species) that are suited to the current climatic conditions, as well as the predicted future conditions. This chapter will discuss the effect of changing climate on animal performance, animal response to environmental stressors and the processes of adaptation.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Gatton, 4343, Australia

    John B. Gaughan

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  1. John B. Gaughan
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Correspondence to John B. Gaughan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Division of Physiology and Biochemistry, Central Sheep and Wool Research Institut, Avikanagar, Via-Jaipur, 304501, Rajasthan, India

    Veerasamy Sejian

  2. , Division of Physiology and Biochemistry, Central Sheep and Wool Research Institut, Avikanagar, Via-Jaipur, 304501, India

    S.M.K. Naqvi

  3. and OARDC, Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University, Wooster, 44691, Ohio, USA

    Thaddeus Ezeji

  4. , Department of Veterinary Clinical Scienc, The Ohio State University, Columbus, 43210, Ohio, USA

    Jeffrey Lakritz

  5. , Carbon Management and Sequestration Cent, The Ohio State University, Columbus, 43210, Ohio, USA

    Rattan Lal

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Gaughan, J.B. (2012). Basic Principles Involved in Adaption of Livestock to Climate Change. In: Sejian, V., Naqvi, S., Ezeji, T., Lakritz, J., Lal, R. (eds) Environmental Stress and Amelioration in Livestock Production. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29205-7_10

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