Impact of climate change on plant disease dynamics

Abstract

Climate change represents a significant threat to global food security and ecosystem health, with plant diseases emerging as a major concern. This systematic literature review synthesizes current knowledge on how climate change impacts plant disease dynamics, identifies research gaps, and proposes future directions to enhance resilience against climate-induced plant diseases. The review findings demonstrate that climate change alters pathogen evolution, leading to increased virulence and the emergence of new strains. Geographic range shifts of pathogens expose previously unaffected regions to disease outbreaks. Climate change also affects host plants by altering susceptibility and phenology, with significant implications for disease incidence and severity. Biodiversity plays a crucial role in regulating disease dynamics, while interactions with other environmental stressors exacerbate the challenges posed by climate change. Effective management  trategies include monitoring and early warning systems, integrated pest management approaches, and policy interventions that promote sustainable agriculture and biodiversity conservation. However, gaps remain in understanding the complex interactions between pathogens, hosts, and the environment under future climate scenarios. More research is needed on the evolutionary potential of pathogens, the role of microbial communities in plant health, validation of findings under real-world conditions and establishing robust monitoring systems that utilize climate data and pathogen surveillance can facilitate early detection of disease outbreaks.