Agriculture faces the dual challenge of sustainably increasing productivity to meet the food demand of a rapidly growing population and adapting to climate change. Despite significant efforts to develop more adaptive and productive crop cultivars and to improve water and nutrient management practices, the potential of crops to tackle this challenge by optimizing soil resource utilization remains underexplored. Here, we propose that optimizing root systems to promote the efficient acquisition of soil resources can increase yield, improve resilience to climate variability, and reduce environmental impacts. This optimization can be achieved through genetic manipulation at the crop species level and effective management of cropping systems at the field level (e.g., intercropping, rotation, and agroforestry). Advances in three-dimensional soil data collection, linking root traits to plant performance, and modelling of climate-soil–plant-management interactions are paving the way for soil-smart cropping. Effective communication and knowledge exchange with stakeholders beyond the scientific community are vital for accelerating the development and adoption of soil-smart practices for climate-smart and sustainable agricultural production.

中文翻译：

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土壤智能型种植，气候智能型生产


农业面临着双重挑战，既要可持续地提高生产力以满足快速增长的人口的粮食需求，又要适应气候变化。尽管为开发适应性和生产力更高的作物品种以及改善水和养分管理实践做出了巨大努力，但作物通过优化土壤资源利用来应对这一挑战的潜力仍未得到充分开发。在这里，我们提出优化根系以促进土壤资源的有效获取可以提高产量，提高对气候变化的适应能力，并减少对环境的影响。这种优化可以通过作物物种层面的遗传操作和田间种植系统的有效管理（例如间作、轮作和农林业）来实现。三维土壤数据收集、将根系性状与植物性能联系起来以及气候-土壤-植物-管理相互作用建模的进步正在为土壤智能种植铺平道路。与科学界以外的利益相关者进行有效的沟通和知识交流，对于加速开发和采用土壤智能型实践以实现气候智能型和可持续农业生产至关重要。