Editorial: Mechanistic insights into plant biomechanical and biochemical adaptation to climate change

Climate change through the combination of different stressors imposed on plants is reshaping them at 18 every level of biological organization. Rising temperatures, increased climatic variability, intensifying 19 drought and heat episodes, and altered light and UV regimes all challenge the developmental, structural 20 and physiological limits of terrestrial plants [1]. 21 Understanding how plants sense, withstand, and adapt to these pressures requires an integrative 22 perspective, one that spans across molecular signalling, Overall, the study shows that hygroscopic movement in fir cones is driven by gradual changes across 47 the scale lamina rather than by a single hinge region. This graded structure allows the scale to bend in 48 a stable and adjustable manner, while also providing useful ideas for designing humidity-responsive 49 materials and improving our understanding of how conifers release their seeds. 50As mentioned above, climate change is a multi-factorial process influencing the terrestrial plants in 51 different aspects. Wang et al. ( 2025) simulated adopted distribution of Oryza sativa, as one of the most 52 consumed crops, by using the R package Biomod2. They incorporated various variables like min, max 53 and mean temperature, and precipitation. With such approach, they predict the rice distribution in 2050, 54 2070 and 2090 for a scenario with or without incorporation of changed UV radiation for China, 55 highlighting the effects on agriculture and provision of this crops for the future. These kind of 56 investigating spatial species distribution may become more evident in future especially for developing 57 countries [3]. 58Adaptation by grafting is an ancient agricultural practice involving transfer of metabolites from 59 rootstock to scion and vice versa, but as well transcripts, regulatory RNA and many more [4]. Biermann 60 et al. (2025) investigated heat stress tolerance in reciprocally grafted tomato (susceptible versus 61 tolerant), highlighting the potential to use early developmental stages for screening. In addition, they 62 combined phenotypic data (like yield or dry weight) with transcriptomic data indicating that the 63 agronomically relevant trait(s) in tomato are controlled by an underlying complex signaling network, 64 involving photosynthesis, heat shock proteins and ROS detoxification processes, as well as the 65 modulation of energy-consuming developmental processes. 66 Thus, the published studies in this research topic highlight different aspects of adaptation to climate 67 change, from a broad, theoretical point of view, over simulation to close insights in hygroscopic cone-68 scale movements and adaptation by grafting. In summary, these articles show that land plant evolution 69 has followed a structural logic that benefits the environmentally exposed life habits of the land plants. 70 1The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial 72 relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. 73Author Contributions 74