One of the greatest challenges to the fight against climate change may be diminished significantly thanks to ground breaking research being performed at the University of Western Australia.
Dr Kioumars Ghamkhar is the head of a team which is mapping the genes in legumes which end up producing the most harmful gas in regards to climate change- methane.
Dr Ghamkhar and his team are researching the different types of legumes that cattle and sheep eat, in order to distinguish which ones end up producing the least amount of methane when digested by these animals.
In a world first for the mapping of plant genes, Dr Ghamkhar is hopeful that the research will have a significant effect on the problems farmers could eventually face in terms of climate change regulations.
"The aim is to reduce the effect of what farmers are doing on the environment", he says. "We want to create legumes with the best feeing value with the lowest methane emissions".
Although results are still a few years away, the potential for a positive step for farmers and avoiding climate change is great.
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