The first international PlantACT! Conference "Plant Science for a Livable Planet" took place from 10 to 13 March at the Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf, Germany. The conference was organised by Anne Krapp (Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement, INRAE, Versailles, France), Heribert Hirt (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, KAUST, Saudi Arabia) and Andreas Weber (Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, HHU, Germany). The conference was attended by 106 researchers from 15 countries, 45% of whom were early career researchers.
Plant science to mitigate and tackle global climate change
The international conference aimed to address the critical role of plant science in mitigating and ultimately solving global climate change. Currently, agriculture is both a victim and a contributor to climate change, accounting for approximately 20-25% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [1]. Global warming is associated with extreme weather events and changes in precipitation patterns, which pose a challenge to food and feed security. Since crop plants assimilate about 9 Gt of carbon per year, they are a major sink for atmospheric carbon. Therefore, science-based strategies are needed to
- avoid negative impacts of agriculture on climate change,
- adapt to the consequences of climate change, and
- mitigate climate change.
Food security, soil health and carbon sequestration
The scientific objectives of the conference revolved around these themes and were organised into five sessions:
- Resilience and Food Security: Plant growth and development in the context of climate change
- Resilience and Food Security: Plant adaptation and resilience strategies in response to climate variability
- Soil-Plant Health: Impacts of climate change on plant physiology, growth and development
- Nitrogen Use Efficiency: Improving plant nitrogen use and avoiding nitrogen emissions
- Carbon Sequestration: Mitigating climate change.
The programme consisted of 21 invited talks and 10 talks selected from the poster abstracts. Posters were presented during coffee breaks and in a special poster session on Tuesday evening. In keeping with the spirit of the conference, the catering consisted entirely of vegan and vegetarian options. Each attendee received a reusable coffee cup made from bio-plastic to minimise waste and fossil fuel resources.
Interdisciplinary approaches are needed
The range of topics presented was diverse, from molecular mechanisms in nitrogen signalling and breeding approaches for higher water use efficiency to the role of plants in soil carbon sequestration. Throughout the conference it was clear that interdisciplinary approaches are needed, especially at the interface between plant, microbial and soil sciences.
On Tuesday afternoon, two workshops organised by early career researchers took place: "Urgent actions for climate challenges: what is next for PlantACT! (organised by Catherine Welsh, Lancaster, UK) and "Addressing plant blindness: How plants can take centre stage in the public debate on climate change" (organised by Svenja Augustin, Düsseldorf, Germany).
Panel: Communicating plant based solutions
A panel discussion on Monday evening, "Having Impact in the Real World", moderated by David Spencer, addressed the challenge of how to get out of the academic "ivory tower" and translate basic science into solutions that contribute to solving climate change and its consequences.
As part of the conference, the PlantACT! Community also held its first business meeting. It was decided to incorporate PlantACT! as a registered association so that it can act as a legal entity in the future.
Bringing together researchers from different generations and disciplines
Overall, the first international conference identified strategies to address the challenges posed by climate change by bringing together senior and early career scientists from around the world. The conference linked disciplines other than plant science, such as soil, climate and ecosystem science, as well as social sciences. The latter was achieved through workshops and a public plenary discussion. Through collaboration and knowledge sharing, the conference contributed to accelerating progress towards a sustainable future for agriculture and the planet as a whole.
The second PlantACT! conference will be organized by Antonio Molina in Madrid, Spain, from April 6 to 9, 2025.
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[1] Hirt et al., (2023): PlantACT! – how to tackle the climate crisis. Trends in Plant Science 28 (5), 537-543. DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2023.01.005
Prof. Dr. Andreas Weber, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Institute of Plant Biochemistry