Agriculture and Food Security in the Era of Climate Change

Climate change is an ongoing threat worldwide, concerning food security in developing countries but also affecting crop productivity even in well-developed regions. These continuous changes in the climate have a multidimensional and complex impact on food availability and population health, leading to an urge for a science-based approach that can simultaneously take advantage of the new imposed environmental conditions for food productivity and security. In this context, elevated atmospheric CO2 (eCO2) arises as a flagship in climate change conditions, and despite showing a positive influence on the photosynthesis rate of many C3 species, the C4 species response is relatively small, also occasioning a decrease in proteins, vitamins, and micronutrients content in both metabolisms under certain conditions, reducing nutritional quality. Temperature oscillation also influences crop productivity with complex interactions through ambient CO2 concentration, water availability, and nutrient availability. In the concern of temperature, high day temperature (HDT) and high night temperature (HNT) affect productivity in different ways, making it detrimental to understand how and which crops are affected by each or both temperature variations and in which developmental stage crops are most affected. Furthermore, crop improvement and smart land management are crucial to alleviate the ubiquitous climate change events.