Open research questions in Climate change impacts on agriculture

What the literature leaves open

• Limited availability of long-term field experiments. Insufficient integration of environmental, economic, and social dimensions into climate adaptation research. Geographically fragmented research in Latin American countries, with concentrated scientific production in Mexico and Brazil.

  Climate Change and the Sustainability of Rainfed Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Production in Latin America: A Scoping Review · 2026 · DOI

• The need for multidimensional analyses of vulnerability in the Mediterranean region. The lack of spatial and temporal assessments of climate change vulnerability in the West Bank, Palestine. The need to identify the factors contributing to the region's overall vulnerability.

  Spatial and Temporal Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment in the West Bank, Palestine · 2025 · DOI

• The research aims to address the lack of knowledge on the spatial distribution of consecutive dry days and their effects on agricultural productivity.

  Frequency, Spatial Distribution, and Influence of Consecutive Dry Days on Rainfed Agriculture · 2025 · DOI

• The lack of fresh water in the dry season and the increased frequency of storms. The degradation of land quality due to drought, salinity intrusion, and fertility decline.

  Impact of Climate Change on Agricultural Production and Food Security: A Case Study in the Mekong River Delta of Vietnam · 2024 · DOI

• There is a need to develop irrigation approaches that increase water use efficiency while reducing yield losses in maize production. The impact of moisture stress on maize growth, physiology, and productivity is not well understood.

  Moisture stress induced changes in growth, physiology and productivity of maize: An experimental evaluation · 2026 · DOI

• Crop migration is widely regarded as a critical adaptation strategy to mitigate climate-induced production losses; however, its quantitative efficacy and inherent limitations in offsetting systemic production declines remain poorly quantified.

  Crop migration is not a viable long-term strategy for mitigating climate change impacts on winter wheat production in the North China Plain · 2026 · DOI

• The results suggest that awareness alone is insufficient; policies should combine risk communication with practical training, locally appropriate support, and investment-risk reduction.

  How Dimensions of Climate Change Awareness Relate to Advanced Technology Adoption in Rice Production in Central Coastal Vietnam · 2026 · DOI

• In contrast, the effects of short‐term heat waves on reproductive development and yield formation remain poorly understood.

  Pre‐Flowering Heat Wave Sensitivity on Yield and Its Components in Two Spring Barley Near‐Isogenic Lines for PPD‐H1 Alleles · 2026 · DOI

• The impact of rising temperature on various crops needs to be studied under field conditions.

  Impact of Heat Stress on Growth and Fodder Yield of C3 (Cowpea) and C4 (Pearl Millet) Crops: Insights From Field and Modelling Experiments · 2025 · DOI

• However, to date, risk assessment criteria have not been established for evaluating the potential climatic risks associated with wheat PHS in different areas.

  Evaluating Wheat Pre‐Harvest Sprouting Risk Using Indicator Based on Meteorological Data From 1981 to 2020 in China · 2025 · DOI

• The connections between agricultural tech, policies, land use change, and development in the Loess Plateau remain unclear.

  Plastic Film Mulching Is a Key Strategy for Coping With Cultivated Land Loss and Driving Green Agricultural Development in the Loess Plateau · 2025 · DOI

• Various aspects of nocturnal physiology in plants are understudied, one of which is the independent influence on daytime processes.

  Wheat genotypes selected for their high early daytime stomatal conductance under elevated nocturnal temperatures maintain high yield and biomass · 2024 · DOI

• The integration of ICT and climate resilience is a crucial gap in addressing climate change in Pakistan. The need for a voluntary carbon market in Pakistan is a significant gap.

  Integrating ICT and climate resilience for agricultural transformation in Pakistan: a hybrid econometric and machine learning approach · 2026 · DOI

• Climate change is reshaping development trajectories worldwide, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Traditional evaluation approaches rely on static indicators and linear analyses, constraining their capacity to capture climate variability. The lack of granular data can lead to misinterpretation of vulnerability.

  Machine learning algorithms for climate change integration in evaluation: A conceptual model and simulated case application in Africa · 2026 · DOI

• There is a paucity of research that combines AI in evaluation and AI in climate modelling into a unified evaluation workflow. Few studies explicitly demonstrate how an evaluator can use ML to 'climate-adjust' the performance ratings of social projects.

  Machine learning algorithms for climate change integration in evaluation: A conceptual model and simulated case application in Africa · 2026 · DOI

• Central African countries remain underrepresented. Social and institutional dimensions of adaptation receive limited attention. The field is dominated by quantitative approaches, with relatively few studies employing mixed methods or incorporating gender perspectives.

  Mapping the Landscape of Climate Change and Agricultural Research in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Bibliometric Review and Content Analysis of Trends and Collaborations · 2026 · DOI

• Future research should adopt mixed and participatory methods that integrate quantitative analysis with farmers' lived experiences. Targeted funding, regional research hubs, and South-South collaboration can help address gaps in research coverage.

  Mapping the Landscape of Climate Change and Agricultural Research in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Bibliometric Review and Content Analysis of Trends and Collaborations · 2026 · DOI

• The dataset does not reflect current winter wheat harvested areas, despite noticeable cropland expansion in recent decades. The harvested areas were based on records from around the year 2000 and remain constant.

  Reclaiming abandoned croplands to adapt wheat production to a warmer world · 2026 · DOI

• No empirical data or validation is provided for the projected net savings of US$ 2.2-3.7 billion and job creation estimates of 35,000-40,000 from electric vehicle adoption.

  Integrating ICT and climate resilience for agricultural transformation in Pakistan: a hybrid econometric and machine learning approach · 2026 · DOI

• The study only used data from three regions in Punjab, Pakistan, - The study used a limited number of machine learning models, - The study did not consider other factors that may affect wheat…

  Analysis of Wheat-Yield Prediction Using Machine Learning Models under Climate Change Scenarios · 2024 · DOI

• Investigating the use of other machine learning models for wheat yield prediction, - Examining the impact of other climate factors on wheat yield, - Using data from other regions to validate the results, - Exploring the use of ensemble models for other crop yield…

  Analysis of Wheat-Yield Prediction Using Machine Learning Models under Climate Change Scenarios · 2024 · DOI

• Climate change poses significant threats to sustainable rice production - Limited access to education and climate-related organizations may hinder CSA adoption - Small farm sizes and limited access to credit facilities may constrain the adoption of CSA…

  Determinants of Climate-Smart Agriculture Adoption Among Rice Farmers: Enhancing Sustainability · 2024 · DOI

• The study was conducted in a single district of Nepal - The sample size was limited to 200 respondents - The study did not consider other factors that might influence the adoption of CSA…

  Determinants of Climate-Smart Agriculture Adoption Among Rice Farmers: Enhancing Sustainability · 2024 · DOI

• Although numerous studies have examined the influence of meteorological factors on wheat yields across China's principal producing regions, the differential sensitivities of these regions to distinct climatic drivers, the spatial heterogeneity in yield variability, and the systematic mechanisms by which large‐scale atmospheric circulation regulates regional climate and thereby indirectly affects wheat production…

  Climate‐Driven Co‐Variability of Wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) Yields Across Provinces in China · 2026 · DOI

• Using a unique panel dataset based on two census rounds, we estimate the impact of irrigation gaps and drought on yields of paddy, maize, and other crops in Bhutan, an understudied country.

  Identifying the impact of water constraints on agricultural productivity in hillside contexts · 2024 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Climate change impacts on agriculture

• Climate Trends and Global Crop Production Since 1980 · Science · 2011 · 3,835 citations
• Influence of extreme weather disasters on global crop production · Nature · 2016 · 3,453 citations
• The impacts of climate change on water resources and agriculture in China · Nature · 2010 · 3,148 citations
• Climate Change Impacts on Global Food Security · Science · 2013 · 2,879 citations
• Prioritizing Climate Change Adaptation Needs for Food Security in 2030 · Science · 2008 · 2,254 citations
• Climate variation explains a third of global crop yield variability · Nature Communications · 2015 · 1,756 citations
• Resilience in Agriculture through Crop Diversification: Adaptive Management for Environmental Change · BioScience · 2011 · 1,262 citations
• The Economic Impacts of Climate Change: Evidence from Agricultural Output and Random Fluctuations in Weather · American Economic Review · 2007 · 1,192 citations
• Does Adaptation to Climate Change Provide Food Security? A Micro‐Perspective from Ethiopia · American Journal of Agricultural Economics · 2011 · 1,138 citations
• Anthropogenic climate change has slowed global agricultural productivity growth · Nature Climate Change · 2021 · 941 citations

Most recent work

• The Costs of Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change · 2026
• Extreme heat and drought at flowering could threaten global wheat yields under climate change · Climatic Change · 2026
• Temperature thresholds of extreme heat-induced yield loss in maize and soybean reveal geographic heterogeneity across the Northern Hemisphere · Nature Food · 2026
• How misinformation and information asymmetry distort climate adaptation among smallholder farmers · Agricultural Systems · 2026
• Adapting agriculture for climate resilience: Strategies for sustainable production and food security · Results in Engineering · 2026
• Climate-resilient agriculture strategies to address the challenges of agri-food security and climate change · Field Crops Research · 2026
• Predictive drivers and transferability of multi-scale machine learning based crop yield prediction under drought across European and Asian climates · Agricultural Water Management · 2026
• Agronomic management drives the wheat yield plateau in high-yielding environments of northwest Europe · Nature Food · 2026
• Climate change and food policy interventions: Implications for the yield response of arable crops in Nigeria · Environmental and Sustainability Indicators · 2026
• AI-Enabled Remote Sensing Assessment of Cultivated Land Quality and Sustainability Under Climate Stress: Evidence from Saudi Arabia · Resources · 2026

Related topics in Agricultural and Biological Sciences