Plant Adaptation and Tolerance to Environmental Stresses: Mechanisms and Perspectives

Environmental stresses such as waterlogging, drought, salinity, high and low temperature, and elevated CO2 levels affect plant development and pose an increasing warning to sustainable agriculture. Environmental stresses have become a matter of contention due to concerns about the outcomes of climate change on plant resources, genetic diversity, and world food safety. Plant responses to these stress factors are highly intricate and include modifications at the cellular, molecular, and genetic levels. Now, it has been scientifically proven that plant responds differently to multiple stresses as compared to individual stresses. As the changing climate will expose the plants to interactive effects simultaneously, therefore there is a dire need for further research in plant developmental responses to these stress factors; otherwise, this will have a negative effect on sustainable agriculture. Therefore, in this chapter, recent advancement in mechanisms and perspectives of plant adaptation and tolerance to several environmental stresses have been discussed.