Physiological and Agronomic Performance of the Coffee Crop in the Context of Climate Change and Global Warming: A Review

Coffee is one of the most important global crops and provides a livelihood to millions of people living indeveloping countries. Coffee species have been described as being highly sensitive to climate change, as largely deduced frommodeling studies based on predictions of rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns. Here, we discuss the physiologicalresponses of the coffee tree in the context of present and ongoing climate changes, including drought, heat, and light stresses, andinteractions between these factors. We also summarize recent insights on the physiological and agronomic performance of coffeeat elevated atmospheric CO2concentrations and highlight the key role of CO2in mitigating the harmful effects of heat stress.Evidence is shown suggesting that warming, per se, may be less harmful to coffee suitability than previously estimated, at leastunder the conditions of an adequate water supply. Finally, we discuss several mitigation strategies to improve crop performancein a changing world.