Closing the Loop: Food – Waste – Energy – Climate

BackgroundAgricultural and food systems generate large volumes of biomass in the form of crop residues, livestock manures, food processing by-products, and non-harvested plant material. When unmanaged or underutilized, these streams can drive greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient losses, local pollution, and economic inefficiencies. Climate change is intensifying these pressures by increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events and by accelerating the spread of invasive plant species in disturbed and agricultural landscapes. Invasive biomass can disrupt ecosystems and agricultural productivity, while also requiring significant resources for control and removal. Recent advances in circular bioeconomy concepts, biomass conversion technologies, and green extraction methods highlight opportunities to reframe these materials as resources for renewable energy, soil amendments, and bioactive compounds—yet research and implementation remain fragmented across disciplines and sectors.GoalsThis Research Topic aims to advance climate-smart strategies that convert agri-food waste streams and underutilized biomass (including invasive plant biomass where relevant) into solutions that jointly support (i) climate mitigation, (ii) adaptation and resilience, and (iii) productivity and/or food security. By connecting waste management, biomass conversion, nutrient cycling, and recovery of bioactive compounds within a food-systems framing, the Topic seeks to strengthen evidence on climate-smart synergies and trade-offs, identify conditions for responsible scaling, and support science-based pathways for resilient, low-carbon, and resource-efficient food systems.Scope This Research Topic welcomes interdisciplinary submissions (original research, reviews, mini-reviews, perspectives, modeling studies, LCA/TEA, and case studies) that explicitly link agriculture and climate change and address synergies/trade-offs across mitigation, adaptation/resilience, and productivity/food security outcomes.Submissions may address (but are not limited to) the following themes:Assessment and characterization of agri-food waste streams, residues, by-products, and invasive biomass as resources in climate-smart food systemsBiomass conversion and biorefinery approaches (e.g., anaerobic digestion/biogas, biofuels, biochar, pyrolysis/gasification) with explicit links to food-system outcomesNutrient recovery and circular inputs (digestate management, composting, soil amendments) and impacts on fertilizer substitution and nutrient-use efficiencyRecovery of bioactive compounds from waste and non-conventional biomass and applications (functional foods, feed additives, plant protection, bio-based inputs)Soil health, carbon sequestration, and ecosystem resilience (soil organic carbon, water retention, yield stability under climate stress)Environmental, economic, and social sustainability assessment (LCA, TEA, sustainability metrics, multi-criteria decision analysis)Systems modeling and scenario analysis across scales (farm to region to global) linking food–energy–land–climate outcomesSynergies and trade-offs among mitigation, adaptation/resilience, and productivity/food security, including safeguards and unintended effectsCase studies and pilot projects demonstrating scalability, infrastructure needs, and implementation lessons across contextsGovernance, policy, and adoption (incentives, regulation, equity, stakeholder engagement) enabling circular climate-smart pathwaysInvasive biomass management within agriculture, including climate-driven spread dynamics, risk management, and responsible utilization pathways Topic editors: Anamarija Peter, Benedikt Hülsemann Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77547/closing-the-loop-food---waste---energy---climate