/http%3A%2F%2Fscontent.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhprofile-xtp1%2Fv%2Ft1.0-1%2F12036905_1647753248804568_3429158329595490302_n.jpg%3Foh%3D42c7f36babd5768ee53c7df65b276795%26oe%3D577EADDB)
CLIMATE AND RESOURCES
Everything on the earth is within its space (environment) that in any way affects one another. Human exist within a natural environment, the sum of physical environment that they have modified by their individual and collective actions. Changes in climatic pattern that resulted from human and natural forces, however sometimes human actions surpass the influence of nature on climate that call for the new environmental configuration and forever prevent the establishment of a single constant “balance of nature”. Lets first start by knowing what climate and what is resource.
Climate is the statistic of weather, usually over a long period of time (approximately 30 years). It is measured by assessing the patterns of variation in temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, precipitation and other meteorological variables in a given region over a long period of time. Climate differs from weather, in such weather only describes the short term conditions of these variables in a given region (Miller, 1971, 04).
Resources are naturally occurring materials that a human population at any given state of economic development and technological awareness perceive to be necessary and useful for economic and material well being. Their occurrence and distribution in the environment is the result of physical process over which people have little or no direct control (Fellman, 2008, 257).
Climate and Vegetation
The influence of climate on vegetation is almost at any scale, the variation in weather patterns, windstorms, floods and diseases all results in the rise and fall of flora. Various climate elements have various influences on vegetation of a place.
Moisture; distribution pattern of biota (vegetation) is governed more significantly by the availability of moisture. In warm arid regions water is the master limiting factor and in the absence of runoff, primary production is strongly correlated with rainfall. The potential moisture for any spot on earth is determined by the same factors that regulate temperature, most notably latitude, altitude, cloud cover and slope. A water deficit occurs when potential evaporate-transpiration exceeds precipitation.
During a period of water surplus, some water may be stored by plants and some may accumulate is soil a soil moisture, depending on run off and the capacity to hold water. During a later water deficit, such stored water can be used by plants and released back in the atmosphere that why a place with huge rainfall have high amount of vegetation than those with little amount of rainfall. Here in Tanzania we can say the difference between Lushoto and Dodoma vegetation is caused by moisture content between these two respectively places.
Temperature; the temperature of air and of soil is also important in vegetation distribution patterns. Fewer species of plant can survive in cold regions than in areas of more moderate temperatures. Daily temperature pattern that are modified by topography affect the presence of vegetation. A slope facing the sun intercepts lights beams more perpendicularly than does a slope facing away from the sun, as a result a south facing slope in the Northern hemisphere receives more solar energy than a north facing slope and the south facing slope receives much heat and relies heat faster thus it gets warmer during the day.
Moreover, the nature of vegetation is different between these two slopes as in a south facing slope is typically drier than a north facing one because it receives more solar energy and therefore more water is evaporated.
Wind; the moving currents of air that promote exchange of heat and water, hence an organism cools or warms more rapidly in a wind than it does in stationary air mass at the same temperature. Likewise, winds often carry away moist air and replace it with drier, thereby promoting evaporation and loss of water.
The effect of excessive dry wind can increase evaporation from exposed surface, thus causing a moisture deficiency hence affect water balance within a body. The sheer physical force of wind can also be influential. A strong wind can uproot trees, modify plant forms, and or increase the heat intensity of wildfires. On the positive side, wind can aid in the dispersal of biota by carrying pollen and seeds (292).
Sunlight; light is so importance to a plant in such that no plant can survive without light, that is a reason we can answer why there is absence of vegetation in deep ocean areas. Light is important to a plant is the basic process of photosynthesis where is process by which plants create their own food. It is also important in plant shape. In a place where the amount of light is restricted, such as in dense forest, trees are likely to be very tall but have limited lateral growth. In areas that have less dense vegetation, more light is available and as a result trees are likely to be expansive in lateral spread but truncated vertically.
Current rapid destruction of vegetations reflects human intentions to expand farming and grazing areas thus harvest vegetations. The depletion endangers or destroys the world’s most diversified plants biomes and adversely affect local, regional and world pattern of temperature and rainfall. The loss of plants (vegetation) diminishes a vital “carbon sink” needed to absorb excess carbon dioxide.
Climate and Water
Water plays a key role in development. It sustains human life, both through direct consumption and use in irrigation (for food security) as well as in industrial activities. While water availability for drinking purpose is essential, it cannot be separated from wider water resource management issues. Today, more than one billion people still lack access to safe water, while over two billion lack safe sanitation. Climate governs the availability of water for human population in term of quality, quantity and accessibility of water supplies. Climate influence the change of quality, quantity and accessibility of water supplies.
Quantity of water; water is under pressure due to the influence of climate as a result of reduced rainfall and increased temperature in many regions of the world. Further reduced availability of water for drinking, house hold use, agriculture and industry is due to climate change. The quantity of water of every place in the world is determined by climate under which it lies, for example in equatorial and tropical areas there is huge presence of surface runoffs and evergreen vegetation while in desert here is non or sometimes little due to variation in the availability of rainfall and temperature between these places.
The Stockholm Environmental Institute estimates that based on only a moderate change of global pattern of climate, by 2025 the population of the world living in the countries of significant water stress will increase from approximately 34 percent in 1995 to 63 percent. Rising global temperatures lead to an intensification of the hydrological cycle, resulting in dryer dry seasons and wetter rainy seasons, and increase the risks of more extreme and frequent floods and drought. Changing climate also has significant impacts on the availability of water, as well as the quality and quantity of water that is available and accessible. Melting glacier increase flood risk during the rainy season, and strongly reduce dry-season water supplies to one-sixth of the World’s population
Water and Climate Change on various places of the world
Some analysis shows that the area of land characterized by dry has been doubled since 1970s, while the area of land characterized by wet has slightly being declining in the same period. Increased temperatures have resulted in diminished water availability. Precipitation in both western Africa and southern Asia have decreased by 7.5 percent between 1900and 2005. Most of the major deserts in the world are likely to experience decreased amounts of precipitation and runoff with increased warming.
Climate and Agriculture
Solar radiation, temperature and precipitation are the main drivers of crop growth; therefore agriculture has always been highly dependent on climate pattern and variations. Some changes in the global climate that resulting in higher global temperature and shifting of precipitation pattern will affect hydrological regimes hence increasing climatic variability. Overall, climate result in variety if impacts on agricultural conditions, food supply and food security. Some of which are biophysical and other ecological such as
Climate have overviewed general influence of agriculture of a place, however two main element of climate are essential controller of agriculture and these are the late of precipitation and temperature
Precipitation, rainfall pattern of a place reflect the distributional area of growth of various crops. The nature of agricultural activities found in huge precipitated areas is different to those of under/low precipitation. In huge precipitation areas the nature of crops and animal grazed are different to those of places of low precipitation but huge precipitation is not good at all for agriculture as it increase/influence the rate of floods, landslides and down washing of soil nutrients from top soil to sub soil. Hence many agricultural activities are in moderate rainfall areas, though they vary according to regions and the rate of precipitation they receive.
The shifting of rainfall pattern on various places of the world marks the change of location and seasons of plantation of crops on those places, hence some places will be better suited for agriculture while other will lose their fertility as for the coastal regions due to increased amount of salt thus they become unproductive as the balancing between salt water and flesh water from rainfall will be little even the balance will not be attained due to melting of ice and rising of sea level that increase salt concentration in water and coastal area.
For example many under developing countries that depend heavily on agriculture for sustenance and it is conducted through rainfall lather than irrigation as developed nations do will suffer much on climatic change which will be accompanied by shifting of planting calendar, long range of precipitation, under production that will result into food shortage and hunger hence put the population of these countries in danger.
Temperature, it reflects the length of growing season of a place. A place with moderate temperature and moderate rainfall have moderate or average growing season, while a place with little temperature with huge or low precipitation have long length of growing season as plants need average temperature for their growth and in a place where there is high temperature farmers need to adapt it by planting tolerant and needle-leaf plants that survive in little water areas and do not easily lose water.
Shifting of temperature ranges has affected the changes of length of growing seasons. Farmers are needed to adjust by planting and harvesting dates in order to cope with it. Higher average temperatures are also correlated with higher incidences of insect reproduction and diseases. These changes may result in an increased use of pesticide and herbicide use, which has serious implications on agricultural activities of a place.
Global climatic changes have various effects on agriculture however some agricultural activities may also change the existing pattern of climate of a place as;
Thus due to this, agriculture will be one of the hardest-hit sectors by climate change reinforcing the unequal distribution of impacts. In addition to pressures caused by population growth and intensified agriculture, warmer temperatures will lead to increased water evaporation, intensifying the need for irrigation as water becomes even less available. Shiklomonov (2003) predicts that water withdrawal for agriculture will rise from 2 600 km3 in 2000 to 3 200 km3 by 2025. Increasing supply for irrigation will simply not be feasible in many regions, particularly where irrigation capacity is not sufficiently developed to accommodate changing precipitation patterns.
In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, where up to 90 percent of agriculture is rain fed, the sector accounts for 70 percent of employment and 35 percent of GNP, and changes in rainfall will have a significant social and economic impact. Meanwhile, it is estimated that a temperature increase of 2-3.5 degrees Celsius in India could result in a decline in farm revenues of between 9 and 25 percent. The International Rice Research Institute, for example, estimates that for every degree Celsius of night time temperature increase, there is at least a 10 percent decrease in rice production for the African region.
Some areas will benefit from longer growing seasons (such as northern Asia), changes in water regimes will render other areas unsuitable for traditionally-grown products, and others areas will become susceptible to new forms of crop and livestock diseases. In regions already affected by food shortage and famine, this could cause further disruptions in food supply.
/image%2F2018702%2F20160412%2Fob_3bf672_img-20150722-234447.jpg)
Special needs education expert
/http%3A%2F%2Fscontent.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhprofile-xtp1%2Fv%2Ft1.0-1%2F12036905_1647753248804568_3429158329595490302_n.jpg%3Foh%3D42c7f36babd5768ee53c7df65b276795%26oe%3D577EADDB)
/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.over-blog.com%2Ft%2Fcedistic%2Fcamera.png)