Warmer climate could mean selenium scarcity

An international research team has shown that climate change could lead to diminished soil concentrations of selenium – a trace mineral that is essential to human health. The amount of selenium in our food – such as cereal grains – is closely linked to soil concentrations of this trace element. But according to a study led by the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), these concentrations are likely to dwindle significantly by the end of the century as a result of climate change. The research team, which also included scientists from the Swiss federal technology institute ETH Zurich as well as Germany and the United Kingdom, used multiple sets of data collected for other purposes to model average global soil selenium concentrations between 1980-1999 and between 2080-2099. They found that overall, about two-thirds of soil could be expected to lose 9% of its selenium under “moderate” climate change conditions, with agricultural regions in ...