Chemical pollution doesn’t lead to ag and ecosystem collapse – the environment is resilient

The present-day harsh environmental conditions influence the sustainable potentiality of plant system adversely. The projected average rise in global temperature from 2.0 to 4.9 °C by the year 2100 will expose plants to high heat waves situation during their entire life cycle. It has been predicted that in the near future at the global level, the combination of drought, salt stress, and extreme temperature stresses may lead to a drastic effect on plants’ fitness and their overall productivity. It has also been projected that about 90% of arable lands are prone to a single or multiple stress condition. A large number of plant functions and products are affected by climate variables with consequent changes in quality. Moreover, environmental pollution due to heavy metals has also affected the global as well as regional soil fertility, soil biomass, rhizosphere/soil health, and plant yields, leading to bioaccumulation of metals in the human food chain. The nutrient management in food crops and other higher plants is a key challenge as it relies mainly on traditional chemical fertilizers, although they are costly, bulky, and harmful to human food chain and the environment. In this regard, the use of nano-biofertilizers can prove much advantageous and eco-friendly. Overall, under adverse conditions, plants are forced to adapt to environmental harshness and combat the ecological/environmental changes responsible for altering their physiological, metabolic, and molecular functions. In this connection, plant hormones act alone or interacting with other hormones, generate multiple signals, and regulate the growth and development of plant organs. They also protect and improve the physical development of plants even under harsh environmental conditions such as water scarcity, soil salinity, temperature variation, and metal toxicity. Thus, understanding environmental stress signal sensing and the balance between defense and development in plants lays the foundation for improvement in plant resilience. This chapter highlights some of the recent advances in our understanding of the harsh environment and the potential of resilient plants to withstand the extreme environmental conditions.