Editorial: impact of global climate change on the interaction between plants and plant-parasitic nematodes

Abstract

Global climate change is an important environmental influence on plant ecosystems. Temperature, precipitation, duration and quality of sunlight, availability of nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, are determinants of plant growth that are likely to change due to global climate change effects. Climate change-induced high levels of atmospheric CO2 promote plant growth due to increased photosynthesis, at the cost of decreased evaporative cooling. In parallel, elevated CO2, temperature and altered precipitation levels strongly influence the biology of nematodes including plant and insect-parasitic nematodes. Although nematode development occur at a faster rate in warmer soil temperature, it is not yet clear about the precise implications of climate change effects on nematode biology as well as on plant-nematode interaction continuum.