Climate change boosts soybean production but worsens bean quality, study finds
In the UK, Phys.Org reported that a study published by Food Research International analyzed the triple effect of climate change on soybean quality—increased carbon dioxide (CO2), high temperatures and drought. Using predictive modeling powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and based on experimentally verified data, the study assessed how these pressures would affect the beans. It concluded that the seeds would change their composition, producing 50% more beans but of lower nutritional quality.
The study was led by scientists from the Laboratory of Ecological Plant Physiology (LAFIECO) in the Department of Botany at the University of São Paulo’s Institute of Biosciences (IB-USP) in Brazil. The scientists highlighted a 20% reduction in starch content and a 6% reduction in protein content in beans exposed to the triple impact. Furthermore, they observed a significant increase in amino acid content (175%).
“That increase in amino acids was unexpected. We don’t even know the effect of it on animals. We need to understand the effects of the triple impact on protein metabolism, which is very important for soybeans used in animal feed. We’ve seen that protein decreases in drastic climate change scenarios. Additionally, the bean loses starch, meaning less energy,” summarizes Marcos Buckeridge, coordinator of LAFIECO.
The researcher states that the obtained data can help calibrate predictive models for global agriculture in the context of the impacts of climate change, as reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), according to the report.
Category: Food & Agriculture
