Journal article

Publication year: 2023

Journal: Nature Food

eISSN: 2662-1355

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-023-00858

Publisher: Nature Research

Abstract: 

Air pollution and climate change are tightly interconnected and jointly affect field crop production and agroecosystem health. Although our understanding of the individual and combined impacts of air pollution and climate change factors is improving, the adaptation of crop production to concurrent air pollution and climate change remains challenging to resolve. Here we evaluate recent advances in the adaptation of crop production to climate change and air pollution at the plant, field and ecosystem scales. The main approaches at the plant level include the integration of genetic variation, molecular breeding and phenotyping. Field-level techniques include optimizing cultivation practices, promoting mixed cropping and diversification, and applying technologies such as antiozonants, nanotechnology and robot-assisted farming. Plant- and field-level techniques would be further facilitated by enhancing soil resilience, incorporating precision agriculture and modifying the hydrology and microclimate of agricultural landscapes at the ecosystem level. Strategies and opportunities for crop production under climate change and air pollution are discussed.

Elevated CO2, global warming, ozone pollution and drought are major climate-related environmental challenges affecting field crop production. This Review discusses strategies and opportunities for crop production under climate change and air pollution at the plant, field and ecosystem scales.

Harvard Citation style: Agathokleous, E., Frei, M., Knopf, O., Muller, O., Xu, Y., Nguyen, T., et al. (2023) Adapting crop production to climate change and air pollution at different scales, Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-023-00858

APA Citation style: Agathokleous, E., Frei, M., Knopf, O., Muller, O., Xu, Y., Nguyen, T., Gaiser, T., Liu, X., Liu, B., Saitanis, C., Shang, B., Alam, M., Feng, Y., Ewert, F., & Feng, Z. (2023). Adapting crop production to climate change and air pollution at different scales. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-023-00858