Climate change, catastrophe risk, and government stimulation of the insurance market—a study of transitional China

Insurance makes use of the law of large numbers to mitigate the effects of risks on individuals by allowing them to be shared collectively. Early insurance arrangements arose as friendly societies and mutual insurance companies. Marine insurance has a long history and remains a major insurance market. Fire insurance provides compensation in the face of a capricious and frightening risk, but also invites fraudulent claims. Increasing amounts of information provide challenges for insurance underwriting: can there be too much information? The principle of insurance is that of averaging out of independent risks, but when risks are not independent, as may be the case when it comes to climate change, is there still any role for insurance?

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Longer photoperiods negate the CO 2 stimulation of photosynthesis in Betula papyrifera Marsh: Implications to climate change‐induced migration

Physiologia Plantarum ◽

10.1111/ppl.13298 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Binyam Tedla ◽

Qing‐Lai Dang ◽

Sahari Inoue

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Betula Papyrifera ◽

Stimulation Of

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The Impact of Drought in Plant Metabolism: How to Exploit Tolerance Mechanisms to Increase Crop Production

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app10165692 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (16) ◽

pp. 5692 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Dhriti Kapoor ◽

Savita Bhardwaj ◽

Marco Landi ◽

Arti Sharma ◽

Muthusamy Ramakrishnan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Drought Stress ◽

Water Availability ◽

Arable Land ◽

Ecological Niches ◽

Antioxidant Systems ◽

Crop Species ◽

Change Factors ◽

The Impact ◽

Stimulation Of

Plants are often exposed to unfavorable environmental conditions, for instance abiotic stresses, which dramatically alter distribution of plant species among ecological niches and limit the yields of crop species. Among these, drought stress is one of the most impacting factors which alter seriously the plant physiology, finally leading to the decline of the crop productivity. Drought stress causes in plants a set of morpho-anatomical, physiological and biochemical changes, mainly addressed to limit the loss of water by transpiration with the attempt to increase the plant water use efficiency. The stomata closure, one of the first consistent reactions observed under drought, results in a series of consequent physiological/biochemical adjustments aimed at balancing the photosynthetic process as well as at enhancing the plant defense barriers against drought-promoted stress (e.g., stimulation of antioxidant systems, accumulation of osmolytes and stimulation of aquaporin synthesis), all representing an attempt by the plant to overcome the unfavorable period of limited water availability. In view of the severe changes in water availability imposed by climate change factors and considering the increasing human population, it is therefore of outmost importance to highlight: (i) how plants react to drought; (ii) the mechanisms of tolerance exhibited by some species/cultivars; and (iii) the techniques aimed at increasing the tolerance of crop species against limited water availability. All these aspects are necessary to respond to the continuously increasing demand for food, which unfortunately parallels the loss of arable land due to changes in rainfall dynamics and prolonged period of drought provoked by climate change factors. This review summarizes the most updated findings on the impact of drought stress on plant morphological, biochemical and physiological features and highlights plant mechanisms of tolerance which could be exploited to increase the plant capability to survive under limited water availability. In addition, possible applicative strategies to help the plant in counteracting unfavorable drought periods are also discussed.

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Impact of interacting climate change factors on growth and ochratoxin A production by Aspergillus section Circumdati and Nigri species on coffee

World Mycotoxin Journal ◽

10.3920/wmj2016.2041 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 863-874 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

A. Akbar ◽

A. Medina ◽

N. Magan

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Ochratoxin A ◽

Toxin Production ◽

Aspergillus Ochraceus ◽

Change Factors ◽

Significant Stimulation ◽

Coffee Beans ◽

Higher Temperature ◽

Stimulation Of ◽

Lag Phases

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of interacting climate change (CC) factors (water stress [water activity, aw; 0.99-0.90]); temperature [30, 35 °C]; and elevated CO2 [400 and 1000 ppm] on (1) lag phases prior to growth, (2) growth and (3) ochratoxin A (OTA) production by species of Aspergillus sections Circumdati and Nigri on coffee-based media and stored coffee beans. The lag phases, prior to growth, of all strains/species were slightly increased as aw, temperature and CO2 were modified. The interacting CC factors showed that most strains/species examined grew well at 30 °C and slightly less so at 35 °C except for Aspergillus niger (A 1911) which could tolerate the higher temperature. In addition, the interaction of elevated CO2 (1000 ppm) + temperature (35 °C) increased OTA production when compared with 30 °C but only for strains of Aspergillus westerdijkiae (B2), Aspergillus ochraceus (ITAL 14) and Aspergillus steynii (CBS 112814). Most of the strains had optimum growth at 0.95 aw at 35 °C, while at 30 °C the optimum was at 0.98 aw. On stored coffee beans there was only a significant stimulation of OTA production by A. westerdijkiae strains in elevated CO2 (1000) at 0.90 aw. These results suggest differential effects of CC factors on OTA production by species in the Sections Circumdati and Nigri in stored coffee and that for most species there is a reduction in toxin production.

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