Nutrient management strategies under climate extremes: Implications for sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture

Abstract

Climate change is intensifying the frequency and severity of climate extremes such as heat waves, droughts, floods, erratic rainfall, and cold stress, posing serious threats to agricultural productivity and soil nutrient sustainability. These extremes disrupt soil-plant-nutrient interactions by altering nutrient cycling, microbial activity, nutrient availability, and plant uptake mechanisms, ultimately reducing fertilizer use efficiency and crop yields while increasing nutrient losses and greenhouse gas emissions. Conventional blanket fertilizer recommendations and excessive reliance on inorganic fertilizers have proven inadequate under such variable and stress-prone conditions, leading to soil degradation, micronutrient deficiencies, eutrophication, and enhanced nitrous oxide emissions.This review synthesizes current knowledge on nutrient dynamics under climate extremes, highlighting changes in carbon-nitrogen-phosphorus interactions, soil biological processes, and micronutrient availability. It critically evaluates the vulnerability of traditional nutrient management practices and emphasizes the need for climate-resilient approaches. Key strategies discussed include integrated nutrient management, precision nutrient management, optimized nutrient timing and placement, climate-smart fertilizers, and crop-based adaptations such as diversification, legume inclusion, cover cropping, and development of nutrient-efficient and stress-tolerant varieties. The review further examines nutrient management interventions tailored to major climate extremes drought, flooding, and heat stress and their role in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions while enhancing soil carbon sequestration.Finally, the review underscores the importance of region-specific, socio-economically viable, and policy-supported nutrient management frameworks. Addressing existing knowledge gaps through interdisciplinary research and emerging technologies is essential for achieving sustainable, climate-resilient agriculture that balances productivity, environmental protection, and long-term food security.