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Kiel researchers in the fight against climate change: securing the future of plants!
The Christian Albrechts University in Kiel presents results of the PCC annual conference on plant adaptations to climate change.
Kiel researchers in the fight against climate change: securing the future of plants!
The challenges of global change pose massive problems for the plant world, as the first annual meeting of the DFG Research Group (FOR) 5640 “PlantsCoChallenge (PCC)” on September 29, 2025 in Kiel made clear. Around 40 researchers, including international experts, discussed how plants can adapt to the challenges of climate change. This transdisciplinary research at Kiel University (CAU) aims to gain deeper insights into the consequences of global warming and environmental stress in order to develop a response to increasing crop losses and the need for robust crops.
The research program includes five sub-projects that investigate various stress factors that plants are exposed to. Topics range from oxygen availability to stress responses of aquatic plants and the resilience of wild and domesticated varieties. In addition to the land plants barley, quinoa and sea cress, aquatic plants such as seaweed and pondweed are also considered. The aim is to analyze and understand the effects of climate change and environmental stress on plant health in order to ultimately increase the viability of crops in agriculture.
Climate impacts and adaptation strategies
The urgency of this research is underpinned by the increasingly acute consequences of climate change. The year 2024 marked the warmest year on record, resulting in more frequent droughts, wildfires, heavy rain and floods. These extreme weather events cause serious harvest losses and push agriculture to its limits. Many crops show a limited ability to adapt to changing climatic conditions, which makes the need for robust seeds all the more pressing. In the context of rising global temperatures, the IPCC warned of significant negative impacts on grain production if warming exceeds two degrees Celsius.
The PCC research group looks at the interactions between different stress factors to develop a holistic understanding of plant adaptation mechanisms. Important advances, particularly in the area of genome editing, could play a key role in significantly increasing the resilience of crops. Processes such as CRISPR/Cas are subject to rapid technological progress and enable targeted genetic interventions, which can specifically make plants more resistant to diseases or abiotic stress.
Results and outlook
Initial results on physiological and evolutionary adaptations to stress factors such as drought and heat stress were presented during the conference. The success of these research approaches could not only enrich the scientific community, but also create groundbreaking foundations for agricultural practice. Dr. Götz Hensel, one of the active researchers, is working on increasing the tolerance of cultures to changes in the climate through genome editing.
In summary, the PCC initiative can make a significant contribution to how agriculture of the future can be adapted to the challenges of climate change through its transdisciplinary orientation and cooperation with various institutions, including the GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research and universities in Münster and Tübingen.
Current research particularly highlights the need for increased use of innovative technologies and methods as well as international cooperation to develop more resilient, climate-adapted crops that can meet the nutritional needs of the growing world population even under difficult conditions.