OPEN ACCESS | Published on : 19-Mar-2026 | Pages: 1-14 | Doi : 10.37446/vol2book092025/1-14
Climate change reshapes agricultural systems through interconnected processes operating at microclimatic, biological, and material levels. At the farm scale, altered canopy temperature, soil heat flux, and boundary-layer humidity modify field microclimates, with urban and peri-urban agriculture further exposed to heat island effects. These localized changes directly influence crop performance, water use efficiency, and stress tolerance. Climate stress also disrupts soil-climate-microbiome interactions by restructuring microbial communities, impairing nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration, and increasing the prevalence of pathogenic organisms under prolonged heat and drought conditions. The development of climate-resilient microbiomes and targeted bioinoculants is emerging as a promising adaptation strategy. Shifts in temperature and moisture regimes alter decomposition rates and modify lignocellulosic composition, resulting in increased lignin content and changes in cellulose crystallinity. These transformations influence the quality and processability of agro-waste for bioenergy generation, bioplastics production, composting, and other resource recovery applications. Understanding these climate-driven material changes enables the design of climate-adaptive pathways for agro-waste valorisation. By integrating microclimate alteration, soil microbial resilience, and sustainable residue management, this chapter highlights underexplored dimensions of climate change critical for advancing climate-resilient and circular agricultural systems for sustainable development.
Climate change dimensions, Microclimate, Soil-microbiome interactions, Agro-waste valorisation, Climate change impacts, residue management, Climate resilient Agriculture
Afzali, M., Colak, G., & Vähämaa, S. (2025). Climate change denial and corporate environmental responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 196(1), 31–59. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-024-05625-y.
Aggarwal, P. K. (2003). Impact of climate change on Indian agriculture. Journal of Plant Biology, 30(2), 189–198.
Aggarwal, P. K., & Singh, S. D. (2012). Climate change impact, adaptation and mitigation in agriculture: Methodology for editors.
Albitar, K., Al-Shaer, H., & Stephanie, Y. (2023). Corporate commitment to climate change: The effect of eco-innovation and climate governance. Research Policy, 52(2), 104697. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2022.104697.
Angst, G., Mueller, K. E., Nierop, K. G. J., & Simpson, M. J. (2021). Plant- or microbial-derived? A review on the molecular composition of stabilized soil organic matter. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 156, 108189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2021.108189.
Auffhammer, M., & Schlenker, W. (2014). Empirical studies on agricultural impacts and adaptation. Energy Economics, 46, 555–561. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2014.09.010.
Bisen, J., Priyadarsani, S., Pathak, H., Mondal, B., Tiwari, U., & colleagues. (2022). Socioeconomic implications of climate change on rice farming.
Carrier, M., Gonzalez, F. R., Cogliastro, A., Olivier, A., Vanasse, A., & Rivest, D. (2019). Light availability, weed cover and crop yields in second generation of temperate tree-based intercropping systems. Field Crops Research, 239, 30–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2019.05.004.
Clair, S. B. S., & Lynch, J. P. (2010). The opening of Pandora’s box: Climate change impacts on soil fertility and crop nutrition in developing countries. Plant and Soil, 335, 101–115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0328-z.
Cordero, O. X., & Datta, M. S. (2016). Microbial interactions and community assembly at microscales. Current Opinion in Microbiology, 31, 227–234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mib.2016.03.015.
Cuartero, J., Querejeta, J. I., Prieto, I., Frey, B., & Alguacil, M. M. (2024). Warming and rainfall reduction alter soil microbial diversity and enhance pathogenic fungi in dryland soils. Science of the Total Environment, 949, 175006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175006.
Dafermos, Y., & Nikolaidi, M. (2018). Climate change, financial stability and monetary policy. Ecological Economics, 152, 219–234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.05.011.
Das, D. (2016). Changing climate and its impacts on Assam, northeast India. SpringerPlus, 5, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40728-015-0028-4.
Dirk, K., & Bo, C. (2014). Wind speed reductions as influenced by woody hedgerows grown for biomass in short rotation alley cropping systems in Germany. Agroforestry Systems, 579–591. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-014-9700-y.
Drake, B. G., Gonzàlez-Meler, M. A., & Long, S. P. (1997). More efficient plants: A consequence of rising atmospheric CO₂? Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology, 48, 609–639.
Dufour, L., Gosme, M., Le, J., & Dupraz, C. (2020). Does pollarding trees improve crop yield in a mature alley-cropping agroforestry system? Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 206, 640–649. https://doi.org/10.1111/jac.12403.
Dufour, L., Metay, A., Talbot, G., & Dupraz, C. (2013). Assessing light competition for cereal production in temperate agroforestry systems using experimentation and crop modelling. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 199, 217–227. https://doi.org/10.1111/jac.12008.
Eyring, V., Bony, S., Meehl, G. A., Senior, C. A., Stevens, B., Stouffer, R. J., & Taylor, K. E. (2016). Overview of the coupled model intercomparison project phase 6 (CMIP6) experimental design and organization. Geoscientific Model Development, 9(5), 1937–1958. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-1937-2016.
Fierer, N., & Jackson, R. B. (2006). The diversity and biogeography of soil bacterial communities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103(3), 626–631. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0507535103.
Foereid, B., Bro, R., Overgaard, V., & Porter, J. R. (2002). Effects of windbreak strips of willow coppice Modelling and field experiment on barley in Denmark. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 93, 25–32.
Gordon, A. M., Newman, S. M., & Coleman, B. R. W. (2017). Temperate agroforestry systems. CABI.
Government of India. (2011). Ministry of development of north eastern region.
Government of India. (2017). Economic survey 2017–18: Climate, climate change and agriculture. https://mofapp.nic.in/economicsurvey/economicsurvey/pdf.
Greff, B., & Lakatos, E. (2022). Influence of microbial inoculants on co-composting of lignocellulosic crop residues with farm animal manure: A review. Journal of Environmental Management, 302, 114088. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114088.
Grubb, M., Okereke, C., Arima, J., Bosetti, V., Chen, Y., Edmonds, J., Gupta, S., Köberle, A., Kverndokk, S., Malik, A., & Sulistiawati, L. Y. (2022). Introduction and framing. In Climate change 2022: Mitigation of climate change (pp. 151–214). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157926.003.
Hatfield, J. L., & Prueger, J. H. (2015). Temperature extremes: Effect on plant growth and development. Weather and Climate Extremes, 10, 4–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2015.08.001.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2022). Climate change 2022: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009325844.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2023). Climate change 2023: Synthesis report. https://www.unep.org/resources/report/climate-change-2023-synthesis-report.
International Energy Agency. (2023). CO₂ emissions in 2023. https://www.iea.org.
Jacobs, S. R., Webber, H., Niether, W., Grahmann, K., Lüttschwager, D., Schwartz, C., Breuer, L., & Bellingrath-Kimura, S. D. (2022). Modification of the microclimate and water balance through the integration of trees into temperate cropping systems. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 323, 109065. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2022.109065.
Jarvis, A., Lane, A., & Hijmans, R. J. (2008). The effect of climate change on crop wild relatives. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 126, 13–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2008.01.013.
Kanzler, M., Böhm, C., & Dieter, M. (2019). Microclimate effects on evaporation and winter wheat yield within a temperate agroforestry system. Agroforestry Systems, 93, 1821–1841. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-018-0289-4.
Kumar, S. N., Islam, A., Rani, D. N. S., & Panjwani, S. (2019). Seasonal climate change scenarios for India: Impacts and adaptation strategies for wheat and rice.
Lal, M., Singh, K. K., Rathore, L. S., Srinivasan, G., & Saseendran, S. A. (1998). Vulnerability of rice and wheat yields in northwest India to future changes in climate. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 89, 101–114.
Liu, S., Li, J., Liang, A., Duan, Y., Chen, H., Yu, Z., & Fan, R. (2022). Chemical composition of plant residues regulates soil organic carbon turnover in soils with contrasting textures. Soil Biology and Biochemistry.
Mukharji, A. (2022). Climate change: Put water at the heart of solutions.
Mume, I. D., & Workalemahu, S. (2021). Review on windbreaks agroforestry as climate-smart agriculture practices. American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 9(6), 342–347. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20210906.12.
Murtala Ganiyu, M. (2021). Revisiting the role of UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol in the fight against emissions from international civil aviation. Nnamdi Azikiwe University Journal of International Law and Jurisprudence, 12(1), 112–126.
O’Neill, S., & Pidcock, R. (2021). Introducing the topical collection: Climate change communication and the IPCC. Climatic Change, 169(3–4). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-021-03253-3.
Ort, D., Thomson, A. M., & Wolfe, D. (2011). Climate impacts on agriculture: Implications for crop production. Agronomy Journal, 103, 351–370.
Physical, T., & Basis, S. (2021). Climate Change 2021 The Physical Science Basis Summary for Policymakers.
Prasad, S., Singh, A., Korres, N. E., Rathore, D., & Sevda, S. (2020). Sustainable utilization of crop residues for energy generation: A life cycle assessment perspective. Bioresource Technology, 303, 122964. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2020.122964.
Reichstein, M., Camps-Valls, G., Stevens, B., Jung, M., Denzler, J., Carvalhais, N., & Prabhat. (2019). Deep learning and process understanding for data-driven Earth system science. Nature, 566(7743), 195–204. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-0912-1.
Rogelj, J., Popp, A., Calvin, K. V., Luderer, G., Emmerling, J., Gernaat, D., Fujimori, S., Strefler, J., Hasegawa, T., Marangoni, G., Krey, V., Kriegler, E., Riahi, K., Van Vuuren, D. P., Doelman, J., Drouet, L., Edmonds, J., Fricko, O., Harmsen, M., & Tavoni, M. (2018). Scenarios towards limiting global mean temperature increase below 1.5°C. Nature Climate Change, 8(4), 325–332. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0091-3.
Rudrakar, S., & Rughani, P. (2024). IoT-based agriculture (Ag-IoT): Architecture, security and forensics. Information Processing in Agriculture, 11(4), 524–541. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inpa.2023.09.002.
Sacks, W. J., & Kucharik, C. J. (2011). Crop management and phenology trends in the U.S. Corn Belt: Impacts on yields, evapotranspiration and energy balance. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 151(7), 882–894. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2011.02.010.
Saseendran, S. A., Singh, K. K., Rathore, L. S., Singh, S. V., & Sinha, S. K. (2000). Effects of climate change on rice production in India. Climate Research, 14, 495–514.
Schaeffer, S. M. (2012). Microbial control over carbon cycling in soil. Frontiers in Microbiology, 3, 348. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2012.00348.
Schlenker, W., & Roberts, M. J. (2009). Nonlinear temperature effects indicate severe damages to U.S. crop yields under climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(37), 15594–15598. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0906865106.
Singh, A., Khichar, M. L., Singh, J., & Ram, B. (2023). Diurnal temperature variation inside crop canopy of pearl millet under different sowing environments. International Journal of Environment and Climate Change, 13(4), 118–131. https://doi.org/10.9734/IJECC/2023/v13i41718.
Singh, N. P., Anand, B., Singh, S., & Khan, A. (2019). Mainstreaming climate adaptation in Indian rural developmental agenda: A micro-macro convergence. Climate Risk Management, 24, 30–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2019.04.003.
Stevanović, M., Popp, A., Lotze-Campen, H., Dietrich, J. P., Müller, C., Bönsch, M., Schmitz, C., Bodirsky, B. L., Humpenöder, F., & Weindl, I. (2016). The impact of high-end climate change on agricultural welfare. Science Advances, 2(8), e1501452.
Surey, R., Schimpf, C. M., Sauheitl, L., Mueller, C. W., Mikutta, R., Rummel, P. S., Dittert, K., Kaiser, K., & Böttcher, J. (2020). Potential denitrification stimulated by water-soluble organic carbon from plant residues during initial decomposition. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 147, 107841. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2020.107841.
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (2022). The sustainable development goals report 2022. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2022/.
Wachendorf, M., & Ru, M. E. (2018). Productivity at the tree-crop interface of a young willow-grassland alley cropping system. Agroforestry Systems, 92, 71–83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-016-0015-z.
Wang, Z., Liang, G., Jiang, S., Wang, F., Li, H., Li, B., Zhu, H., Lu, A., & Gong, W. (2024). Environmental impacts and risks of organic additives in plastics. Emerging Contaminants, 10(4), 100388. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emcon.2024.100388.
Wieder, W. R., Bonan, G. B., & Allison, S. D. (2013). Global soil carbon projections improved by modelling microbial processes. Nature Climate Change, 3, 909–912. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1951.
World Bank. (2013). Warming climate in India to pose significant risk to agriculture. https://www.worldbank.org.
Xu, X., An, H., Huang, S., Jia, N., & Qi, Y. (2024). Measurement of daily climate physical risks and transition risks faced by China’s energy sector stocks. International Review of Economics and Finance, 93, 625–640. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2024.05.006.
Yang, T., Ma, C., Lu, W., Wan, S., Li, L., & Zhang, W. (2021). Microclimate, crop quality, productivity, and revenue in agroforestry systems in drylands of Xinjiang, China. European Journal of Agronomy, 124, 126245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2021.126245.
