Sustainable Cropping Systems Under a Changing Climate
- 1st Edition - June 1, 2026
- Latest edition
- Editor: Mukhtar Ahmed
- Language: English
Sustainable Cropping Systems Under a Changing Climate explores how climate change is reshaping agriculture and highlights the urgent need for resilient, adaptive, and sustainable f… Read more
Sustainable Cropping Systems Under a Changing Climate explores how climate change is reshaping agriculture and highlights the urgent need for resilient, adaptive, and sustainable farming practices. As extreme weather, rising temperatures, and resource pressures threaten food security, this volume offers practical pathways to transform agricultural systems.
Bringing together leading research, real-world case studies, and innovative strategies, this book addresses vulnerabilities and opportunities in modern farming. It covers sustainability principles, climate-smart practices, and the roles of soil health, biodiversity, conservation agriculture, organic farming, agroforestry, regenerative approaches, and plant–microbe interactions in enhancing resilience. Special focus is given to intensive systems such as rice–wheat and rainfed agriculture, particularly in the Global South.
With an interdisciplinary approach and emphasis on both scientific evidence and practical application, this volume bridges a critical gap by supporting informed decision-making at farm, institutional, and policy levels. It is a timely resource for researchers, agronomists, extension professionals, and others seeking to future-proof agriculture through nature-based and technological solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation.
Bringing together leading research, real-world case studies, and innovative strategies, this book addresses vulnerabilities and opportunities in modern farming. It covers sustainability principles, climate-smart practices, and the roles of soil health, biodiversity, conservation agriculture, organic farming, agroforestry, regenerative approaches, and plant–microbe interactions in enhancing resilience. Special focus is given to intensive systems such as rice–wheat and rainfed agriculture, particularly in the Global South.
With an interdisciplinary approach and emphasis on both scientific evidence and practical application, this volume bridges a critical gap by supporting informed decision-making at farm, institutional, and policy levels. It is a timely resource for researchers, agronomists, extension professionals, and others seeking to future-proof agriculture through nature-based and technological solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation.
- Assesses energy use and carbon footprints across cropping systems, enabling sustainability benchmarking and reduced impacts
- Provides yield gap analyses and vulnerability assessments under climatic extremes, offering insights for optimizing fragile agroecosystems
- Evaluates emerging technologies such as biochar and regenerative agriculture, equipping stakeholders with tools for climate mitigation and soil restoration
- Integrates the water–food–energy nexus and low-input strategies, promoting efficient farming and improved livelihoods in resource-limited regions
Researchers and advanced students in agriculture and crop sciences. Agricultural research institutes and universities, policymakers, and stakeholders in the sector.
1. Climate change and global cropping systems
2. Principles of sustainable cropping systems
3. Rainfed itensive cropping systems
4. Climate sensitivity of intensive rice–wheat systems
5. Energy and carbon footprint of diversified rainfed cropping systems
6. Productivity, profitability, and energy use efficiency of cropping systems under different tillage regimes
7. Impact of climate change on soil activity (nitrifying, denitrifying) and other interactions in different cropping systems
8. Modeling soil carbon accumulation in different cropping systems
9. A yield gap analysis to assess vulnerability of different cropping systems to climatic extremes
10. Challenges and prospects for weed management in different cropping systems: a review
11. Organic farming for mitigation of climate change impacts
12. Designing innovative cropping systems to meet sustainable development goals
13. Diversified cropping systems with complementary root growth strategies for climate change adaptation
14. Evaluation of climate-resilient agricultural practices in different cropping systems of the Indian subcontinent
15. Potential of strip cropping systems as climate-resilient cropping systems
16. Water–energy–food nexus of different cropping systems
17. Importance of soil health for climate-resilient cropping systems
18. Regenerative agriculture
19. Climate-resilient technologies for sustainable cropping systems
20. Transformative adaptation: from climate-smart to climate-resilient cropping systems
21. Identification of low-water-demand cropping systems to support water resource conservation
22. Carbon sequestration potential of different cropping systems
23. Evaluation of agronomic Interventions for the adaptation and mitigation of climate change impacts in different cropping systems
24. Biochar use for the mitigation of climate change impacts in different cropping systems: a case study of rice–wheat systems
25. Building resilience for food and nutrition security: focusing on low-input cropping systems
26. Unlocking the potential of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria on different cropping systems
27. Systems-based ecological approaches for integrated and resilient weed management
28. Investigation of diversified cropping systems for climate resilience
29. Models evaluation in diversified cropping systems
30. Integrated pest management in different cropping systems
31. Integrated disease management in different cropping systems
32. Robust cropping systems to tackle biotic stress in a changing climate
33. Harnessing soil carbon sequestration to address climate change challenges in different cropping systems
34. Sustainability, productivity, profitability, and nutritional diversity of different cropping systems: a case study
35. Studying the role of long fallow as an adaptation strategy to climate change in dryland cropping systems
36. Beneficial microbes for climate-resilient cropping systems
37. Integrating intensive livestock and cropping systems: sustainable design and location
38. Enhancing the climate resilience of cropping systems
39. The role of modeling in adapting and building the climate resilience of cropping systems
40. How conservation agriculture buffers the impacts of climate change
41. Conservation agriculture as a climate change adaption strategy: a case study of the Mediterranean region
42. Application of biochar as a circular economy practice for improving resilient agroecosystems
43. Agroforestry solutions for buffering climate variability and adapting to change
44. Channeling the future? The use of seasonal climate forecasts in climate adaptation
45. Agricultural adaptation to climate change: new approaches to knowledge and learning
46. What factors dictate coping strategies for extreme climate events? The case of farmers in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia
2. Principles of sustainable cropping systems
3. Rainfed itensive cropping systems
4. Climate sensitivity of intensive rice–wheat systems
5. Energy and carbon footprint of diversified rainfed cropping systems
6. Productivity, profitability, and energy use efficiency of cropping systems under different tillage regimes
7. Impact of climate change on soil activity (nitrifying, denitrifying) and other interactions in different cropping systems
8. Modeling soil carbon accumulation in different cropping systems
9. A yield gap analysis to assess vulnerability of different cropping systems to climatic extremes
10. Challenges and prospects for weed management in different cropping systems: a review
11. Organic farming for mitigation of climate change impacts
12. Designing innovative cropping systems to meet sustainable development goals
13. Diversified cropping systems with complementary root growth strategies for climate change adaptation
14. Evaluation of climate-resilient agricultural practices in different cropping systems of the Indian subcontinent
15. Potential of strip cropping systems as climate-resilient cropping systems
16. Water–energy–food nexus of different cropping systems
17. Importance of soil health for climate-resilient cropping systems
18. Regenerative agriculture
19. Climate-resilient technologies for sustainable cropping systems
20. Transformative adaptation: from climate-smart to climate-resilient cropping systems
21. Identification of low-water-demand cropping systems to support water resource conservation
22. Carbon sequestration potential of different cropping systems
23. Evaluation of agronomic Interventions for the adaptation and mitigation of climate change impacts in different cropping systems
24. Biochar use for the mitigation of climate change impacts in different cropping systems: a case study of rice–wheat systems
25. Building resilience for food and nutrition security: focusing on low-input cropping systems
26. Unlocking the potential of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria on different cropping systems
27. Systems-based ecological approaches for integrated and resilient weed management
28. Investigation of diversified cropping systems for climate resilience
29. Models evaluation in diversified cropping systems
30. Integrated pest management in different cropping systems
31. Integrated disease management in different cropping systems
32. Robust cropping systems to tackle biotic stress in a changing climate
33. Harnessing soil carbon sequestration to address climate change challenges in different cropping systems
34. Sustainability, productivity, profitability, and nutritional diversity of different cropping systems: a case study
35. Studying the role of long fallow as an adaptation strategy to climate change in dryland cropping systems
36. Beneficial microbes for climate-resilient cropping systems
37. Integrating intensive livestock and cropping systems: sustainable design and location
38. Enhancing the climate resilience of cropping systems
39. The role of modeling in adapting and building the climate resilience of cropping systems
40. How conservation agriculture buffers the impacts of climate change
41. Conservation agriculture as a climate change adaption strategy: a case study of the Mediterranean region
42. Application of biochar as a circular economy practice for improving resilient agroecosystems
43. Agroforestry solutions for buffering climate variability and adapting to change
44. Channeling the future? The use of seasonal climate forecasts in climate adaptation
45. Agricultural adaptation to climate change: new approaches to knowledge and learning
46. What factors dictate coping strategies for extreme climate events? The case of farmers in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia
- Edition: 1
- Latest edition
- Published: June 1, 2026
- Language: English
MA
Mukhtar Ahmed
Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed has served for over two decades at Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, where he is recognized as a senior agronomist, climate change expert, and crop modeler. His research focuses on climate variability, IoT applications, and impacts of climate change on crop ecology, physiology, cropping systems, and rainfed farming. Expert in process-based modeling and remote sensing, employing APSIM, DSSAT, CropSyst, STICS, and EPIC to advance climate-resilient strategies, he has been listed among the world’s top 2% of scientists annually since 2020. He has collaborated with institutions in Australia, Sweden, South Korea, and the United States, contributing to REACCH and AgMIP, and continues to guide global strategies for agricultural climate adaptation.
Affiliations and expertise
Assistant Professor, Department of Agronomy, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan