Plant Pathogens as Indicators of Climate Change

Plant disease risk is strongly influenced by environmental conditions [1]. While some animal hosts may provide their pathogens with a consistent range of body temperatures, plant pathogens are generally much more exposed to the elements. Plant disease will tend to respond to climate change, though a number of interactions take place among host, pathogen, potential vectors. In some cases, the actions of land managers may also complicate interpretation of climate change effects. In this chapter, we present a brief introduction to plant disease and a synthesis of research in plant pathology related to climate change. We discuss the types of evidence for climate change impacts (‘climate change fingerprints’) that might be observed in plant disease systems and evaluate what evidence of climate change fingerprints currently exists. The battle against plant disease is not a new one, and plant disease management is essential for our continued ability to feed a growing human population. The Great Irish Hunger is one striking example of the impact of plant disease: in 1845 more than a quarter million Irish people starved as the result of an epidemic of potato late blight [2]. Plant diseases continue to cause serious problems in global food production. Currently more than 800 million people do not have adequate food and at least 10% of global food production