**Preface to "Plant Adaptation to Global Climate Change"**

The issue of climate change is inevitably accompanied by climate variabilities, such as high temperatures, varying patterns of rainfall, and other environmental factors (including biotic factors), and causes an undesirable impact on plant growth and global food security. The effect of climate change on vegetation may stem from the cellular to molecular levels. Consequently, the current literature on the effect of different environmental factors on vegetation is varied. In view of the future impacts of climate change, understanding the response of plants becomes critical in developing strategies to cope with the threats to plant growth and development and in advancing our existing knowledge about the influence of climate change on vegetation.

This book emerged from the Special Issue "Plant Adaptation to Global Climate Change", published in the journal *Atmosphere*. The articles presented in this book highlight important aspects concerning the impact of global climate change on vegetation. These studies are of interest to the environmental science research community, including those interested in assessing climate change impacts on vegetation and researchers working on simulation modeling.

The editor thanks the authors who generously contributed their time and expertise to ensuring the high quality of this work. The editor especially thanks Prof. Shashi Bhushan Agrawal and Prof. Madhoolika Agrawal, Laboratory of Air Pollution and Global Climate Change, Department of Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, India, and family members for constant inspiration. The editor also expresses his gratitude to the editors of the journal *Atmosphere*, to the reviewers, and to the production team members for their invaluable support and teamwork in the publication of the book. I sincerely hope that this work promotes further approaches to increasing the current understanding of the impact of climate change on vegetation.

> **Amit Kumar Mishra** *Editor*

### *Editorial* **Plant Adaptation to Global Climate Change**

**Amit Kumar Mishra**

Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA; amit.mishra@montana.edu or amit.bhu.bot@gmail.com; Tel.: +1-830-486-3036

The problem of climate change is unavoidably accompanied by climate variabilities, such as high temperature, varying patterns of rainfall, and other environmental factors (including biotic factors), and causes an adverse impact on plant development and global food security. The effect of climate change on vegetation may be from cellular to the molecular level. Consequently, the existing literature on the plant's response to different environmental factors is varied. In view of the future impacts of climate change, understanding the response of plants becomes critical in developing strategies to cope with the threats to plant growth and development. To advance our current knowledge on the impact of climate change on vegetation, articles focusing on the urban, regional, and global levels as well as modeling studies were collected in this Special Issue. The *Atmosphere* Special Issue entitled "Plant Adaptation to Global Climate Change" comprises 13 original papers.

The impact of climate change on the harvested area, yield, and production of sugarcane has been studied in Thailand [1]. The study concluded a projected decrease in future sugarcane yield, harvested area, and production by 23.9–33.2%, 1.3–2.5%, and 24.9–34.9%, respectively, using the spatial regression using the instrumental variable. Highlighting the well-being of the sugarcane growers and instability of the sugar price under future global climate change is the important feature of the study.

Bakku et al. [2] demonstrated differentially expressed genes in rice (*Oryza sativa* cv. Koshihikari) seeds under high-temperature stress using the transcriptomics approach in Japan. The study showed up- and downregulation of more than 100 genes in grade 2 rice (Y2) and grade 3 rice (Y3) seeds, respectively. This study is among the first that suggests that high temperature during the seed filling and maturation in rice damages yield as well as kernel quality.

Analysis of tree rings provided a comprehensive understanding of growth dynamics and their adaptation to climate change using Chinese Torreya (*Torreya grandis* cv Merrillii) as a model system [3]. The analysis was performed using six stem sections from trees having ages between 60–90 years and local climate data. The results revealed that the accumulated radial growth enhanced linearly with time. The study suggested that the gradual growth, drought resistance, and several stems in a single tree could help the trees acclimate to different climate conditions.

Quantification of the isoprenoids between soil with litter and atmosphere in a Mediterranean *Pinus pinea* was performed in order to study the ground level isoprenoid exchanges [4]. The study showed that isoprenoid emissions were high, variable, and can be assessed by the dry weight of litter around the trunk. The findings recommend pervasive spatio-temporal analysis of ground-level isoprenoids' exchanges in different types of ecosystem. Gandia et al. [5] highlighted recognizing the response to environmental change of weed species by analyzing their distribution. The analysis of species led to the categorization of weeds as generalist, regional, or local species, corresponding to latitude and related temperature ranges. Three weed species, *Linaria micrantha* (Cav) Hoffmanns & Link, *Sonchus oleraceous* L., and *Sysimbrium irium* L., were categorized as generalist and *Stellaria media* (L.) Vill. was identified as a local species. The approach in the study can be used to designate weed distribution as a marker of changing climatic conditions.

**Citation:** Mishra, A.K. Plant Adaptation to Global Climate Change. *Atmosphere* **2021**, *12*, 451. https:// doi.org/10.3390/atmos12040451

Received: 29 March 2021 Accepted: 31 March 2021 Published: 31 March 2021

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To study the effects of temperature on the physiological and ecological characteristics of plants, two high-resolution thermal cameras were used to monitor the canopy leaf temperature distribution in a primary tropical rain forest in southwest China [6]. The study included 28 different tree species and the results suggest that both stomatal conductance and size of the leaves determined the difference in the mean leaf-to-air temperature. The findings indicate species-specific functional traits required to investigate and model the interactions of entities for developing the knowledge and prediction of impacts of climate change on vegetation.

The following seven papers in this Special Issue conducted studies using different models or approaches under the future climate change scenario. Simulation of differential impact on winter wheat (*Triticum aestivum* L.) by future projections of climate change (2025 and 2050), especially under increasing temperature was done using CSM-CERES-Wheat model coupled with different Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) and two Global Circulation Models (GCMs) in China [7]. The study indicated that the production of wheat in Guanzhong plain will increase (positive) under future climate change using crop simulation modeling. However, the negative impact will depend upon the climate change projections as GCMs showed both increase and decrease in the grain yield. The study also emphasized proper use of irrigation management as rainfed wheat is very sensitive to climate change. In a study, a scaling approach was used to measure the variation of scaling factors and their correlation at large scales in the estimation of actual transpiration of three boreal species in a forest [8]. The authors demonstrated that the scaled canopy transpiration signified a considerable fraction of forest evapotranspiration (>70%) and recommend the approach for the proper estimation of actual transpiration in the areas having low tree diversity. Mendoza et al. [9] emphasized the use of the Climate Data Science (CDS) Toolbox Species Distribution Model (SDM) in evaluating the appropriate areas of grapevine (*Vitis vinifera* L.) under the present and future climate conditions in France. The study proved different possible effects of future climate change on the spatial distribution of proper areas for grapevine crops. The maximum entropy modeling approach was utilized to foresee future habitat distribution of the susceptible *Prunus Africana* under the effect of climate change in Tanzania [10]. The results showed reductions in appropriate habitats for *P. Africana* under all imminent representative concentration pathways' scenarios as compared to present distributions. Various statistical methods were used to study the variations in the seasonality of Ethiopian highlands' climate, consequences for crop development, assessment of variations in the annual cycle, and long-term trends. [11]. Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) Hadley2 data assimilated by the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP) hydrological models used in the study provided understandings on the unimodal annual cycle of soil moisture in past and future eras. The study concluded that evaporation is increasing and might put stress on different land and water resources due to seasonal variations. An empirical hazard model was used to get the pattern of the global spread of Black Sigatoka Leaf Disease (*Mycosphaerella fijiensis*), an important pathogen on banana [12]. The results showed that agricultural trade might play a significant role in spreading the disease across countries and highlights the threat and prospective cost of relying on just a few varieties with genetic similarity to produce a particular crop globally. Climate change is negatively affecting the health of populations around the world, especially in low-income countries like East Africa. A Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) approach, a common index, was used to evaluate the heat stress in occupational health in East Africa [13]. The results showed that heat stress is already influencing the areas of East Africa. The analysis of two terms of the agricultural calendar suggests that Kenya and Tanzania face substantial portions of their national landmass influenced by high WBGT values; a neighboring country (Uganda) is comparatively less affected.

The goal of this Special Issue is to present research with a broad perspective to understand the effects of climate change on vegetation, involving applied research and studies with different types of modeling approaches, and the 13 papers in this Special Issue achieve this goal. I thank the authors for their significant contributions and hope that this issue triggers some ideas and collaboration or serve as a resource to move ahead in a rapidly changing climate.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Acknowledgments:** The editor would like to thank the authors from the United States of America, India, Japan, Canada, France, Sweden, China, Tanzania, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, Spain, and Thailand for their important contributions to this Special Issue, and the reviewers for their constructive comments to improve the quality of the manuscripts. The editor is grateful to Alicia Wang for her kind support in processing and publishing this Special Issue.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.

#### **References**

