06-11-2017, 12:28 PM
There is perhaps a higher level of uncertainty associated with the profile of pathogenic fungi. Pathogens will also be directly affected by changes in temperature, rain and humidity, but since fungi have pleomorphy, that is, they can exist in two or more different forms during their life cycle, it can be very difficult to predict exactly how species will react individual . The complicated life cycle of macrocyclic rusts is a particularly good example since they have the capacity to produce many different types of spores (basidiospores, aceciospores, urediniospores and teliospores) each with different optimal requirements for the availability of temperature and humidity. This makes it extremely difficult to predict what effect climate change can have. It is known that the change in annual precipitation affects the incidence of these pathogens and, therefore, a sustained and anthropogenic change in our climate can cause intense infestations of these pathogens year after year, with great potential to affect vigour and appearance of the trees.
