The Threats Posed by Environmental Factors to Farm Animals

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Farm Animal Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 357

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Interdyscyplinary Center for Preclinical and Clinical Research, Department of Biotechnology, University of Rzeszow, ul. Pigonia 1, 35-310 Rzeszow, Poland
Interests: honey bee; interactions of environmental factors; bioelectromagnetism; zoohygiene; animal welfare
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Guest Editor
Faculty of Biology, Nature Conservation and Sustainable Development, University of Rzeszów, Pigonia 1, 35-310 Rzeszów, Poland
Interests: pesticide toxicology; honey bee; pesticide dissipation; insect physiology; circadian rhythms
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A significant percentage of farms run activities related to animal production. It provides nearly 50% of global production and an even greater percentage of agricultural commercial production. This production is related to the use by humans of a small number of animal species, called farm animals, which include equines, cattle, cervids, pigs, sheep, goats, fur animals, poultry and honey bees. These animals are bred solely to obtain commercial production or draft power and to obtain reproductive material.

Over thousands of years of breeding, farm animals have been crossbred in such a way that desirable traits (milk production, meatiness, fur quality, number of eggs laid, etc.) are strengthened and undesirable ones (aggression, phenotypic variability, low productivity) are eliminated from the population. As a result of human selection, farm animals have also lost the genes responsible for many traits, including resistance to unfavorable environmental factors. This phenomenon is a particular threat in cases of intensive animal breeding in small areas, where parasites and pathogens can easily spread, and in the face of threats posed by human activity—climate change, chemical (e.g., plant protection products, antibiotics, heavy metals) and physical (electromagnetic field, lighting or temperature disturbing the natural cyclicity) pollution, or globalization-related issues (spread of pathogenic factors to new areas).

In this Special Issue, which is a continuation of the previous Special Issue, we still intend to focus on the threats posed by environmental factors (both natural and anthropogenic) to farm animals. This is a particularly current and very broad topic, covering many fields of science, such as biology, chemistry, parasitology, veterinary medicine, biophysics, toxicology, etc. Therefore, we invite you to submit manuscripts to our Special Issue. Both original research articles and reviews will be accepted.

Dr. Anna Koziorowska
Dr. Bartosz Piechowicz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • farming animals
  • environmental factors
  • natural or anthropogenic factors
  • animal production
  • influence on animals

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 9307 KB  
Article
Projected Heat-Stress in Sheep and Cattle in Greece Under Future Climate Change Scenarios
by Dimitris K. Papanastasiou, Athanasios I. Gelasakis, Giorgos Papadopoulos, Dimitrios Melas, Kostas Douvis, Ioannis Faraslis, Stavros Keppas, Ioannis Stergiou, Anastasia Poupkou, Dimitris Voloudakis, Athena Progiou, John Kapsomenakis and Nikolaos Katsoulas
Agriculture 2025, 15(20), 2141; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15202141 - 15 Oct 2025
Viewed by 265
Abstract
It is well established that exposure to heat-stress conditions significantly impacts the physiology, health, welfare, and productivity of both sheep and cattle. The aim of this study was to apply the Temperature Humidity Index (THI) in order to assess the impact of future [...] Read more.
It is well established that exposure to heat-stress conditions significantly impacts the physiology, health, welfare, and productivity of both sheep and cattle. The aim of this study was to apply the Temperature Humidity Index (THI) in order to assess the impact of future climate conditions on the thermal stress exposure of sheep and cattle in Greece. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was used as a high-resolution regional climate model to simulate climate conditions for two decades in Greece at a 10 Km spatial resolution and a 1 h temporal resolution. The WRF model was applied to two emission scenarios, namely SSP2-4.5 (intermediate) and SSP5-8.5 (worst-case). Projections were made for the near-future decade (2046–2055), with the decade (2005–2014) serving as the reference period for comparative analysis. The data analysis indicated that under the SSP2-4.5 emission scenario, the mean temperature is projected to increase by 1.2–1.4 °C and 1.4–1.6 °C across 38% and 58% of the country’s territory, respectively. Increases higher than 1.6 °C are projected across 32% of the Greek territory under the SSP5-8.5 emission scenario. The mean THI (sheep) and mean THI (adj) (cattle) are projected to increase by 5–10% and by 4% across 74% and 82% of the Greek territory, respectively, when considering the SSP2-4.5 emission scenario. Slightly more severe mean heat-stress conditions were projected when considering the SSP5-8.5 emission scenario. The analysis of the hourly THI values showed that sheep and cattle are expected to experience heat-stress conditions during extended periods in the future, in which hot weather will prevail. Specifically, the number of severe/danger heat-stress hours is projected to double in the greater part of the country. To mitigate the adverse effects of climate-change-induced thermal stress on animal productivity, health, and welfare, the implementation of adaptation measures and best management practices is strongly recommended for sheep and cattle farmers. These measures encompass improvements in breeding strategies, livestock housing and microclimate management, nutritional interventions, and the adoption of precision livestock farming technologies. Given the outstanding economic, social, and environmental importance of sheep and cattle farming in Greece, effective adaptation to and mitigation of climate change impacts represent urgent priorities to ensure the long-term sustainability and resilience of the livestock sector. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Threats Posed by Environmental Factors to Farm Animals)
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