Abstract
Abstract Over the past decades, climate change has induced transformations in the weed flora of arable ecosystems in Europe. For instance, thermophile weeds, late-emerging weeds, and some opportunistic weeds have become more abundant in some cropping systems. The composition of arable weed species is indeed ruled by environmental conditions such as temperature and precipitation. Climate change also influences weeds indirectly by enforcing adaptations of agronomic practice. We therefore need more accurate estimations of the damage potential of arable weeds to develop effective weed control strategies while maintaining crop yield. Here we review the mechanisms of responses of arable weeds to the direct and indirect effects of climate change. Climate change effects are categorized into three distinct types of shifts occurring at different scales: (1) range shifts at the landscape scale, (2) niche shifts at the community scale, and (3) trait shifts of individual species at the population scale. Our main conclusions are changes in the species composition and new species introductions are favored, which facilitate major ecological and agronomical implications. Current research mainly considers processes at the landscape scale. Processes at the population and community scales have prevalent importance to devise sustainable management strategies. Trait-climate and niche-climate relationships warrant closer consideration when modeling the possible future distribution and damage potential of weeds with climate change.
Highlights
Some distinct transformations have been recorded in the weed flora of arable ecosystems in Europe (e.g., Schroeder et al 1993; Sutcliffe and Kay 2000; Weber and Gut 2005; Fried et al 2008; Novak et al 2009; Potts et al 2010; Andreasen and Streibig 2011; Kolarova et al 2013; Salonen et al 2013)
Climate change leads to altered environmental conditions such as altered temperatures and precipitation that directly affect arable weeds
We present three distinct kinds of shifts acting at landscape, community, and population scales as the basic processes underlying current changes in the arable weed flora
Summary
Some distinct transformations have been recorded in the weed flora of arable ecosystems in Europe (e.g., Schroeder et al 1993; Sutcliffe and Kay 2000; Weber and Gut 2005; Fried et al 2008; Novak et al 2009; Potts et al 2010; Andreasen and Streibig 2011; Kolarova et al 2013; Salonen et al 2013). Climate change will cause further alterations in the arable weed species composition. Climate change may become one of the most important determinants for the distribution of arable weeds (Pautasso et al 2010). Climate change leads to altered environmental conditions such as altered temperatures and precipitation that directly affect arable weeds. We present three distinct kinds of shifts (range shift, niche shift, trait shift) acting at landscape, community, and population scales as the basic processes underlying current changes in the arable weed flora. We point out areas for further research targeted at improving estimations of possible future effects of climate change on arable ecosystems that will help to devise management options to meet the challenges resulting from climate-mediated shifts
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