Editorial: Cropping systems adaptation in the context of global change: current trends and future directions

Résumé

Agriculture is evolving amid accelerating environmental and socio-economic changes. Climate shifts, soil degradation, biodiversity loss, resource constraints and new socio-economic conditions are reshaping production environments and influencing farmers' decisions. Rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, extreme weather events, and altered distribution of pests and diseases contribute to variability in crop performance and affect the functioning of agroecosystems. In this setting, adaptation increasingly requires strategies that go beyond incremental adjustments and support the transformation of cropping systems while safeguarding food security, ecosystem health and human well-being, and rural livelihoods. This Research Topic was conceived to capture the diversity of contemporary approaches to cropping systems adaptation in the context of global environmental and socio-economic change. We aimed to assemble contributions that span disciplinary boundaries (from plant physiology to climate modelling and socio-economic analysis) and that reflect the geographic breadth of adaptation challenges. We invited submissions that addressed both current adaptation practices and forward-looking strategies, with an emphasis on empirical evidence, predictive tools, and participatory approaches.The eight contributions assembled in this Research Topic (Table 1) span four continents and 30 encompass diverse production environments, featuring annual arable crops such as cereals and 31 grain legumes, as well as drought-resilient perennials like cactus pears (Opuntia ficus-indica). Their limited representation highlights a critical frontier for future studies.Across the collection, climate adaptation science appears to be increasingly anticipatory. Four Extreme low temperatures, rather than average seasonal conditions, have been identified as the principal constraint on winter wheat yields in northwestern China (Zhang et al., 2026). Research on drought-resilient perennial species such as Opuntia ficus-indica (Hermassi et al., 2026) shows how evapotranspiration dynamics can inform adaptation strategies in semi-arid environments. These studies demonstrate that identifying the specific processes driving crop vulnerability can provide more actionable guidance for targeted interventions than analyses based solely on mean climate trends.Four contributions used modelling frameworks (including crop simulation, climatic suitability analysis, and spatial modelling) to explore how agricultural systems perfom under future climate (Adusei et al., 2023;Tang et al., 2025;Kalemera et al., 2026;Zhang et al., 2026). These approaches support breeding programmes, guide regional crop allocation, identify future Evidence from Kenya shows that varietal choices reflect a balance of agronomic performance, market dynamics, seed availability, familiarity and perceived reliability (Mawia et al., 2025).A systematic review of South Asian wheat systems demonstrated that successful adaptation rarely relies on a single measure but emerges from coordinated technological, agronomic and institutional interventions (Chakrabarti et al., 2025). These findings reinforce the need for resilient agricultural systems that require strengthening seed systems, extension services, market incentives, and participatory innovation alongside advances in genetics and management.Several broader trends characterize contemporary adaptation research. The field is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary, combining climate science, crop physiology, modelling, breeding and socio-economic analysis. Attention is shifting from average climatic conditions toward variability and extremes, with a growing focus on heat waves, drought episodes, rainfall variability and cold extremes. Adaptation research is also becoming more proactive, using predictive tools to anticipate risks and evaluate options before they become urgent issues.However, integration across cropping systems, ecosystems and the socio-economic dimensions of farming likewise remains under-explored.Adaptation science has entered a new phase. Significant progress has been made in identifying climate-resilient crops and cultivars, developing predictive modelling frameworks and improving our understanding of crop responses to environmental change. Further opportunities lie in strengthening the climate-predictive capacity of adaptation science. None of the contributions in this collection engaged with sub-seasonal to seasonal climate prediction, yet coupling seasonal forecasts with crop models is a mature field (Hansen et al., 2006) with considerable potential to anticipate hazards and production risks before the growing season.Climatic teleconnections such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation offer predictable signals that can be integrated into crop and systems modelling to support proactive decision-making.Advances in atmospheric science, particularly in cloud dynamics and surface albedo, further warrant attention: shifts in cloud regimes and land-atmosphere radiative exchanges shape the local energy balance, water availability and crop stress. Integrating these processes would enhance climate impact assessments and operational decision support, particularly in waterlimited environments.Ultimately, the next challenge extends beyond the identification of suitable crops or cultivars.It involves redesigning agricultural systems that are resilient to long-term climate change and responsive to year-to-year variability, while preserving biodiversity, restoring soil health, reducing emissions and losses, improving resource-use efficiency, and sustaining farmers' livelihoods. This reframing from incremental to transformational adaptation (Rickards and Howden, 2012) and from crop-level to systems-level responses (Vermeulen et al., 2018) reflects a broader evolution in adaptation science. The scientific question is evolving from "how can individual crops adapt" to "how can agricultural systems transform".

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