Conservation agriculture under climate change: Principles, processes, and prospects

Abstract

Climate change poses a serious threat to global food security, agroecosystem stability, and rural livelihoods by intensifying temperature extremes, altering rainfall patterns, and increasing the frequency of droughts and floods. Conventional tillage-based agricultural systems have contributed significantly to soil degradation, greenhouse gas emissions, and declining resilience under climatic stress. Conservation Agriculture has emerged as a transformative and climate-smart production system that addresses these challenges through minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover, and diversified cropping systems. By improving soil physical, chemical, and biological properties, Conservation Agriculture enhances water retention, soil organic carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, and crop stress tolerance. Evidence across tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions demonstrates its potential to stabilize yields, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and strengthen adaptive capacity under climate variability. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the role of Conservation Agriculture in climate change adaptation and mitigation, emphasizing its impacts on soil health, crop productivity, nutrient use efficiency, and agroecosystem resilience, while highlighting the need for context-specific implementation to maximize benefits.