Chapter 22. Heat and climate change mitigation

High temperature stress is a primary constraint to maximal yield in wheat, as in nearly all cultivated crops. High temperature stress occurs in varied ecoregions where wheat is cultivated, as either a daily chronic metabolic stress or as an acute episodic high heat shock during critical periods of reproductive development. This chapter focuses on defining the key biochemical processes regulating a plant’s response to heat stress while highlighting and defining strategies to mitigate stress and stabilize maximal yield during high temperature conditions. It will weigh the advantages and disadvantages of heat stress adaptive trait breeding strategies versus simpler integrated phenotypic selection strategies. Novel remote sensing and marker-assisted selection strategies that can be employed to combine multiple heat stress tolerant adaptive traits will be discussed in terms of their efficacy. In addition, this chapter will explore how wheat can be re-envisioned, not only as a staple food, but also as a critical opportunity to reverse climate change through unique subsurface roots and rhizomes that greatly increase wheat’s carbon sequestration.