Olive Orchards Under Climate Change: Smart Adaptation Strategies and Future Perspectives

Dear Colleagues,

Olive growing, a distinctive mark of Mediterranean agriculture, is facing unprecedented challenges due to the accelerating effects of climate change and market evolution. Rising temperatures, altered precipitation regimes, and increasing frequency of extreme weather events are threatening olive yield, oil quality, and the long-term sustainability of traditional and modern orchard systems. This Special Issue aims to gather cutting-edge research that advances our understanding of how olive tree responds, acclimates, and can be managed under changing climatic conditions.

We welcome studies that explore innovative adaptation strategies at physiological, agronomic, and technological levels, such as climate-resilient genotypes, irrigation optimization, soil-plant-atmosphere interactions, and biostimulant applications, to precision agriculture and modeling tools for future scenario analysis.

The scope of this issue also includes the socio-economic and environmental dimensions of climate-smart olive farming, emphasizing circular economy approaches, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity conservation.

We invite original research papers, reviews, and case studies offering novel insights or integrated approaches that contribute to resilient and sustainable olive cropping systems. Contributions from interdisciplinary perspectives —linking plant physiology, remote sensing, genetics, and farm management— are particularly encouraged to foster a holistic vision of the olive sector adaptation to climate change.

Dr. Francesco Maldera
Dr. Agustí Romero
Dr. María Cecilia Rousseaux
Dr. Nicola Cinosi
Guest Editors

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