Crop genetic resources, particularly seeds held in ex situ germplasm collections, have enormous value in breeding climate-resilient crops. Much of this value accrues from information associated with germplasm accessions. Here, we argue that flavor, culinary attributes, and other traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) are important characteristics alongside genomic information and high-throughput phenotypes. We explore both the value of this information and the potential risks of exploitation of sensitive TEK. We also examine the potential of in situ conservation to preserve not just the genetic diversity of crops, but the TEK associated with them.

An increasing world population facing limited natural resources poses a global challenge to food security. This challenge is increasing due to climate change, which in turn is strongly affected by the food system that accounts, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), for one-third of the global greenhouse gas emissions. To make food production sustainable, a new model of agriculture with responsible use of natural resources and minimum use of agrochemicals must be implemented. This approach fosters the development of new technologies, such as that based on plasma-activated water, whose effects, perspectives, and quest for fundamentals are discussed herein.

Understanding how climate change impacts the plant life cycle is critical for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services. Our findings suggest that Terminalia paniculata Roth, a common tropical deciduous tree species in the Western Ghats, is now flowering and fruiting at more scattered times than it used to in the past. This change could harm pollinators and seed dispersers that rely on coordinated flowering and fruiting cycles. Utilizing herbarium specimens, we demonstrated how to track these long-term changes. Our findings stress the importance of using herbarium specimens in long-term studies to guide conservation and climate adaptation strategies.

Ground-based Inventorying and Monitoring programs are crucial for documenting long-term forest responses to global change pressures, though there is limited coordination among them. We call for building synergies between different Inventorying and Monitoring programs, as well as community science and stakeholder engagement, to expand the temporal and spatial scale of forest monitoring and better integrate ground-based monitoring, remote sensing and modelling for timely detection of changes in forest conditions and functioning. This will be beneficial for the Proposal for a Monitoring Framework for Resilient European Forests and other not forestry-related European Union policies and strategies.

Viticulture is facing increasing challenges due to climate change. The focus on fast growth and sweet berries has come at the expense of stress resilience. Grafting onto Phylloxera-resistant rootstocks from American species has been the most successful form of ecological pest management. However, there is still a significant reliance on chemical plant protection. Additionally, abiotic stress has not been a primary concern in rootstock breeding efforts so far. To identify genetic factors that contribute to abiotic stress tolerance, we propose to explore the potential of the wild ancestor of grapevine, Vitis sylvestris. By identifying resilience factors, we can develop a new generation of rootstocks or enhance grafted cultivars to protect viticulture from the impact of abiotic constraints.

Solar parks enable renewable energy production at a large scale, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, the effects of this change in land use on vegetation and soil health are still largely unknown. In this study, we determined the impacts of solar parks on vegetation, soil biota and soil carbon between and below solar panels. We found lower plant and microbial biomass below the panels, while no differences in soil carbon pools were observed. The results stress the urgent need to design future solar parks that prevent soil degradation while still producing the renewable energy needed to combat climate change.

The UK's horticultural industry is shifting from reliance on unsustainable peat-based growing media to products that contain alternative constituents, including coir, bark, wood fibre and composted green waste. Some peat-alternatives carry an elevated risk of harbouring plant pathogens, including the potential to introduce novel pathogens from overseas, threatening the biosecurity of UK horticulture which relies on healthy plants. Our findings support regulation for clarity on constituent sources, defined national sanitisation standards and routine testing for pathogens, and provide evidence to underpin the future development of a quality assurance scheme for UK horticultural growing media currently being postulated by the industry.

Cocoa-driven deforestation threatens tropical forests, particularly in Côte d'Ivoire, the world's largest cocoa producer. This study examines the motivations behind cocoa cultivation in classified forests, the selection of retained tree species on farms, and the economic drivers of wooded lands conservation among farmers. Findings reveal that land tenure security, soil fertility, and socioeconomic factors shape farmers' decisions, with species preferences influenced by ethnicity. Understanding these drivers informs policies for sustainable cocoa agroforestry, integrating reforestation efforts with farmer livelihoods. Targeted interventions, such as land tenure reforms and incentives for tree retention, can promote forest restoration while ensuring the sustainability of cocoa farming.

The UK Plant Health Risk Register (PHRR) has so far identified 581 Plant Pests and Diseases (PPDs) that could invade the United Kingdom and affect 74 tree species. The combined effects of multiple invasions on trees are little understood and seldom considered. We estimate future invasion rates and tree losses from the PHRR risk scores using historical data. We project potentially severe losses to ecologically and economically important species like oak, apple, poplar and pine due to combined impacts of multiple PPDs. Our analysis provides a framework to better understand and address these pressing biosecurity challenges.