Abstract

Crop production is a constant battle with weeds, in which weeds, generally, are victorious. Therefore, rather than channeling our efforts into the development of a “silver bullet” to control weeds, the focus should be on sustainable weed management in both natural- and agro-ecosystems. However, sustainable weed management can be a challenge in the context of global climate change. Over the past few decades, global climate change, mostly indicated by phenomena such as increased atmospheric temperature and elevated CO2 levels, is evident due to human activities and natural events. These phenomena also affect regional/local climate, resulting in significant influences on the agricultural systems of a particular region. Rising CO2 levels may give comparative advantages to C3 plants through increased photosynthesis, biomass production and yield, compared to C4 plants. Plants with C4 photosynthetic pathways, on the other hand, are likely to benefit more from rising global temperatures than C3 plants. Thus, the differential responses of C3 and C4 plants to climate change may alter crop–weed interactions and competition outcomes, most likely at the expense of the crop. Climate change will likely cause shifts in weed community compositions, their population dynamics, life cycle, phenology, and infestation pressure. Some weed species may go extinct, while some others may become more aggressive invaders. Weeds are, generally, colonizers and have some unique biological traits and ecological amplitudes that enable them to successfully dominate crops in a habitat with changed environmental conditions. Moreover, climate shifts, especially erratic rainfall and drought, may affect herbicide selectivity and efficacy or the success of bio-control agents resulting in an establishment of a mixed and complex population of C3 and C4 weed species adding to the complexity of weed management. Although elevated CO2 levels will stimulate the productivity of major C3 crops, most troublesome agricultural weeds will likely be more responsive to a rise in CO2 than crops, and thus may dominate the agro-ecosystem. It is predicted that, as temperature rises, the majority of the C4 weeds will flourish and will pose serious crop yield losses. Understanding and assessment of the impact of simultaneous changes in multiple climate factors and their complex interactions on crops and weeds are therefore necessary to formulate an adaptive weed management approach and build resilience. Moreover, strategic policies and strong actions need to be taken to reduce the root causes of CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions to minimize the impact of climate change on weed biology and management.

Highlights

  • As the global population is estimated to reach 10 billion by 2050 [1], ensuring sufficient quality food for the burgeoning human population will be a fundamental challenge [2] for food producers, researchers, and policy makers worldwide

  • This paper presents a comprehensive review on impact of climate change on weed distribution, growth, biology, and weed management, with indications for formulating new management strategies

  • Climate change is likely to enhance the adaptability of the introduced plants to the new host range and increasing the risk of invasion in native and managed ecosystems [75], as they are well suited to new environments and more successful in resource utilization in elevated CO2 concentrations [35]

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Summary

Introduction

As the global population is estimated to reach 10 billion by 2050 [1], ensuring sufficient quality food for the burgeoning human population will be a fundamental challenge [2] for food producers, researchers, and policy makers worldwide. There are reasons to believe that increasing temperatures, CO2 concentrations, and associated problems like erratic rainfall, frequent cyclones, and storms will certainly aggravate the problem of weeds and make them difficult to manage. Until now it has been a big question whether or not CO2 fertilization could compensate for the other negative impacts of climate change on crop–weed interaction. Along with climate change, socio-economic, technological, and geopolitical changes will take place in the 21st century that will likely affect the environment and agricultural systems (including weed management) and our ability to sustain crop productivity. The purpose of this review includes inviting further debate on this issue

Weed Composition and Distribution
Weed Demography
Weed Species Shift
Weed Invasion
Effect of Elevated Atmospheric CO2
Effect of Increased Temperature
Effect of Changes in Precipitation
Crop–Weed Competition and Interaction
Resource Utilization Efficiency by Weed
Herbicide Efficacy
Herbicide Resistance
Mechanical Control
Biological Control
Findings
10. Final Thoughts
Full Text
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