Complexity in climate-change impacts: An analytical framework for effects mediated by plant disease

This article describes a framework of analysis that was developed to gauge the complexity of climate change effects on ecosystem services. Specifically, these researchers examine how climate change affects plant diseases because of the important implications plant disease can have for food production. For example, drought stress, sometimes caused by an increase in global temperature and extreme weather events, can cause either an increase in susceptibility to diseases or induce resistant reactions. These reactions to climate change are very complex and important for analyzing the risk of disease for plants in all geographic areas. This research framework is intended to be used as a tool for other researchers to examine specific components in an ecosystem in order to further understand the effects of climate change.