College of Science and Agriculture, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana
JournalPIJST
Volume / Issue2 / 1
Pages44–53
Published31 Jan 2025
Paper IDPIJST21J25005
Views / Downloads1 / 0
Article summary
Abstract
Climate change has emerged as one of the most pressing global challenges, profoundly influencing plant survival, growth, and distribution. Rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and elevated CO levels have triggered significant physiological, morphological, phenological, and genetic adaptations in plants. Physiologically, plants regulate photosynthesis, respiration, and water-use efficiency to maintain carbon assimilation under stress. Morphological responses such as root system modifications and leaf structural adjustments enhance resilience to drought, heat, and nutrient imbalances. Phenological changes, including shifts in flowering and seasonal growth patterns, reflect plants’ high plasticity, allowing them to optimize life cycle events under variable conditions. At the genetic level, natural selection, genetic diversity, and epigenetic mechanisms underpin evolutionary responses to long-term climatic stress. Ecosystem-level impacts include altered species distribution, community dynamics, biodiversity loss, and disrupted ecosystem services. Elevated CO initially promotes photosynthesis but often reduces nutrient quality, while heat and cold stress prompt tolerance mechanisms such as thermomorphogenesis and cold acclimation. Additionally, plant-soil-microbe interactions adapt through altered root exudation and microbiome restructuring. Increased pest and pathogen pressures further complicate plant survival. Conservation strategies, including seed banking, restoration ecology, and sustainable agriculture, provide vital avenues for safeguarding biodiversity. Understanding these adaptive mechanisms is crucial for ensuring plant resilience, ecosystem stability, and global food security under rapidly changing climates.
Citation record
How to cite this article
M. Boateng (2025). Plant Responses to Climate Change: Adaptation and Survival Mechanisms. Procedure International Journal of Science and Technology, 2(1), 44–53. https://www.pijst.com/article/pijst21j25005/plant-responses-to-climate-change-adaptation-and-survival-mechanisms
M. Boateng. “Plant Responses to Climate Change: Adaptation and Survival Mechanisms.” Procedure International Journal of Science and Technology, vol. 2, no. 1, 2025, pp. 44–53. https://www.pijst.com/article/pijst21j25005/plant-responses-to-climate-change-adaptation-and-survival-mechanisms
M. Boateng. “Plant Responses to Climate Change: Adaptation and Survival Mechanisms.” Procedure International Journal of Science and Technology 2, no. 1 (2025): 44–53. https://www.pijst.com/article/pijst21j25005/plant-responses-to-climate-change-adaptation-and-survival-mechanisms
M. Boateng (2025) ‘Plant Responses to Climate Change: Adaptation and Survival Mechanisms’, Procedure International Journal of Science and Technology, 2(1), pp. 44–53. Available at: https://www.pijst.com/article/pijst21j25005/plant-responses-to-climate-change-adaptation-and-survival-mechanisms.
M. Boateng, “Plant Responses to Climate Change: Adaptation and Survival Mechanisms,” Procedure International Journal of Science and Technology, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 44–53, 2025. https://www.pijst.com/article/pijst21j25005/plant-responses-to-climate-change-adaptation-and-survival-mechanisms.
M. Boateng. Plant Responses to Climate Change: Adaptation and Survival Mechanisms. Procedure International Journal of Science and Technology. 2025;2(1):44–53. https://www.pijst.com/article/pijst21j25005/plant-responses-to-climate-change-adaptation-and-survival-mechanisms.
M. Boateng. Plant Responses to Climate Change: Adaptation and Survival Mechanisms. Procedure International Journal of Science and Technology 2025, 2 (1), 44–53. https://www.pijst.com/article/pijst21j25005/plant-responses-to-climate-change-adaptation-and-survival-mechanisms.
No separate funding declaration was available in the verified source record; the journal policy applies.
Conflict of Interest
No separate conflict-of-interest declaration was available in the verified source record; the journal policy applies.
Ethical Approval
No separate ethical approval statement was available in the verified source record; the article and journal policies apply.
Data Availability
No separate data-availability statement was available in the verified source record; contact the author(s) or editorial office where appropriate.
Author Contributions
No separate author-contribution statement was available in the verified source record; authorship follows the published article record.
AI-use Declaration
No separate AI-use declaration was available in the verified source record; the journal AI-use policy applies.
Editorial record
Publisher's Note
The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author(s). Publication does not imply endorsement by the journal, editorial board or publisher. Responsibility for accuracy, originality and integrity remains with the author(s). Readers should independently evaluate and verify information before application or citation.
Anderson, J. T., & colleagues. (2020). Plant adaptation to climate change—Where are we? Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 58(6), 763–779. Wiley Online Library+1.
Becklin, K. M., et al. (2016). Examining plant physiological responses to climate change: Phenotypic plasticity. Frontiers in Plant Science, 7, 1139. PMC.
Foyer, C. H. (2023). Plant adaptation to climate change. Biochemical Journal, 480(22), 1865–1886. +15Portland Press+15PMC+15.
Loreto, F. (2024). Climate challenges: can plants adapt in time? Frontiers in Science, 12, Article 1522649. Frontiers.
Oishy, M. N., et al. (2025). Unravelling the effects of climate change on the soil–plant– atmosphere nexus. Environmental Research Reviews, 6, 100042. ScienceDirect.
Janni, M., et al. (2024). Plant responses to climate change: How global warming affects sustainability of natural and agricultural ecosystems. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, 1297569. Frontiers.
George, T. S., Chen, Y., & Oliveira, M. T. (2024). Editorial: Belowground adaptation of plants to climate change. Plant and Soil, 500, 1–10. SpringerLink.
Porcel, R. (2023). The adaptation of crops to the environment under climate change: Physiological and agronomic strategies. Agronomy, 13(3), 938. MDPI.
Zaib, M. (2023). Impact of climate change on crop physiology and adaptation strategies: A review. International Research Journal of Environmental Technology, 5(08), 1–16. irjweb.com+1.
Martinelli, F. (2022). Plants use their epigenetic memories to adapt to climate change. Trends in Plant Science, 27(1), 5–7. sciencedaily.com.
ExpositoAlonso, M., Vasseur, F., Ding, W., Wang, G., Burbano, H. A., & Weigel, D. (2018). Genomic basis and evolutionary potential for extreme drought adaptation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2(8), 1232–1237. en.wikipedia.org.
Ahmed, U., Alvino, A., & Marino, S. (2021). A review of crop water stress assessment using remote sensing. Remote Sensing, 13(21), 4241. en.wikipedia.org.
Tardieu, F., Simonneau, T., & Muller, B. (2018). The physiological basis of drought tolerance in crop plants: A scenariodependent probabilistic approach. Annual Review of Plant Biology, 69, 733–759. en.wikipedia.org.
J. C. Svenning, & Sandel, B. (2013). Disequilibrium vegetation dynamics under future climate change. American Journal of Botany, 100(7), 1266–1286. en.wikipedia.org.
Volk, G. M. (2023). Importance of plants for mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change. In ClimateReady Plant Collections (pp. 1–20). Colorado State University. colostate.pressbooks.pub.