Weed Seed Banks and Weed Biology in Agro-Ecosystems: Exploring the Impact of Management and Environmental Drivers

The rapid pace of global climate change marked by rising atmospheric CO2, warmer temperatures, erratic precipitation and extreme weather is drastically affecting the biology and distribution of plant species. While extensive research has focused on how these changes impact major crops, their pathogens, and insect pests, less is known about their effects on weeds and invasive plants and their management, specifically on weed seed banks and biology. Evidence shows that climate change and severe weather significantly influence the biology, distribution, dispersal, and management of weeds and invasive plants in both natural and agricultural systems. Moreover, the growing demand for food, feed, and other agricultural products has altered land use, crop production methods, and pest management practices, further affecting weeds and invasive species. These combined effects of climate and management changes often exacerbate the challenges faced in controlling weeds.

Understanding weed biology and weed seed banks is crucial for developing effective management programs. With the rise of herbicide-resistant weed biotypes, there is a heightened focus on Integrated Weed Management (IWM), which combines chemical, cultural, and mechanical methods with biological and ecological considerations. Traits such as tolerance to disturbance, genetic variation, phenotypic plasticity, variable seed dormancy, rapid growth, prolific seed production, effective dispersal, and allelopathic exudates contribute to the success of weedy species in agroecosystems.

By integrating knowledge of weed biology and ecology, effective methods and timings for reducing weed seed return can be identified. Advances in technology-such as harvest weed seed control, precision agriculture, robotics, genetically modified crops, competitive cultivars, and biocontrol’s-offer promising opportunities for enhancing weed management when combined with ecological insights.

We are editing an important Research Topic of weed seed bank and weed biology titled “Weed Seed Banks and Weed Biology in Agro-Ecosystems: Exploring the Impact of Management and Environmental Drivers” to highlight the emerging key threats of agricultural production systems across the globe and is to investigate the composition, dynamics, and persistence of weed seed banks across different agro-ecosystems. This Research Topic focus on understanding how various management practices (such as tillage, crop rotation, and herbicide use) and environmental factors (including soil type, climate, and biodiversity) influence the weed seed bank.

This Research Topic also gather research outlining the strategies that address the growing challenge of herbicide-resistant weeds, combining various control methods for effective management. The ultimate goal is to provide insights that can guide the development of sustainable weed management strategies tailored to specific agro-ecosystems.

Topics for this call for papers include, but are not restricted to:

 Advancing integrated weed management through biological and ecological insights: leveraging new technologies and traditional methods

 The role of weed biology and ecology in shaping integrated weed management strategies under changing climate scenario

 Optimizing weed control through biological understanding: integrated approaches to managing herbicide-resistant weeds

 Genetic diversity and adaptation mechanisms of invasive weed species under changing climate scenario

 Temporal dynamics of weed seed banks affected by management practices (Tillage, nutrient, herbicide application etc.,) under different cropping systems (Cover crops, intercropping, perennial cropping etc.,)

 The role of soil disturbance in modulating weed seed bank composition, density and weed biology

 Biotic interactions in the soil seed bank: The role of seed predation and pathogens.

 Weed seed bank management in perennial cropping systems: Challenges and opportunities

 Climate change and weed seed banks: Predicting future weed populations under altered environmental conditions

This knowledge will help weed scientists, agronomists, rangers, and ecologists develop innovative management strategies that address significant changes for sustainable crop production, a safe environment, and stable ecosystems. We welcome submissions in the form of Reviews, Original Research, Methods, Perspectives, and Opinion Articles

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: Weed Seed Bank, Climate Change, Cropping systems, Environmental Drivers, Persistence, Agro-ecosystems, Conservation tillage

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.