Climate change and plant pathogens.

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plant Pathology
• Climate Change Research

Background:

• Global food security faces significant threats from climate change.
• Climate change affects crop production directly and indirectly via plant-associated microbiota, including pathogens.
• Understanding plant-pathogen-environment interactions is crucial for future agriculture.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and synthesize findings on how plant diseases will impact crop production under climate change.
• To evaluate three distinct methodological approaches in assessing climate change effects on plant diseases.
• To identify overarching patterns in disease dynamics influenced by environmental shifts.

Main Methods:

• Large-scale observational studies analyzing disease trends.
• Process-based disease models simulating pathogen spread and impact.
• Experimental comparisons of pathosystems under current and projected climate conditions.

Main Results:

• Observational studies highlight rising temperatures as a key driver of increased disease impact.
• Process-based models predict latitudinal shifts in disease pressure due to warming, with drying potentially mitigating risk.
• Experimental studies indicate that elevated atmospheric CO2 levels exacerbate plant disease severity.

Conclusions:

• Plant diseases pose a significant threat to global food security under climate change.
• Climate change-induced alterations in temperature, precipitation, and CO2 levels will reshape plant disease landscapes.
• The negative impacts of plant diseases may counteract potential crop yield increases from climate change, jeopardizing food production.