Intelligent Environmental Regulation, Crop Physiological Adaptation and Resource Efficiency in Protected Agricultural Systems

Protected agriculture is an important pathway for achieving stable, high-quality crop production under conditions of climate variability, resource constraints, and declining arable land. However, many greenhouse and plant-factory systems still depend on fixed environmental set points and limited feedback from crops, which can result in inefficient use of water, energy, light, and nutrients. Recent advances in intelligent sensing, artificial intelligence, crop modelling, and plant phenotyping have enabled more responsive approaches to environmental management. Studies increasingly show that dynamic regulation of light, temperature, carbon dioxide, water, and nutrients can influence photosynthesis, growth, yield, nutritional quality, and secondary metabolism. Nevertheless, the mechanisms linking environmental conditions with real-time crop physiological status remain incompletely understood, and robust methods for integrating physiological signals into automated control systems are still needed.This Research Topic aims to advance interdisciplinary research connecting protected-environment engineering, crop physiology, computational modelling, and intelligent decision-making. It will examine how key environmental factors and their interactions regulate photosynthesis, growth rhythms, resource allocation, stress responses, and the accumulation of quality-related compounds. Particular attention will be given to the development of physiological signal-sensing and monitoring technologies, as well as computational approaches—including computational fluid dynamics, building energy simulation, artificial intelligence, and data-driven modelling—for predicting crop responses and optimizing facility operation. The Research Topic also seeks to establish closed-loop systems that integrate environmental sensing, physiological feedback, and precise regulation. These advances are expected to improve control accuracy while promoting simultaneous gains in crop productivity, nutritional quality, resilience, and resource-use efficiency.To gather further insights into physiology-oriented intelligent regulation in protected agricultural systems, this Research Topic will focus on research conducted in greenhouses, vertical farms, plant factories, and related controlled-environment facilities. The scope will consider the limitations imposed by crop species, production scale, climate, sensing technologies, and system complexity. We welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:o Physiological responses of crops to interacting environmental factorso Real-time sensing and monitoring of crop physiological signalso Intelligent environmental control algorithms and automated decision-makingo Data-driven, mechanistic, and hybrid models for greenhouse managemento Computational fluid dynamics and building energy simulation in protected agricultureo Light-quality regulation and photophysiological controlo Water–nutrient coupling and precision fertigationo Environmental regulation for improving crop nutritional quality and secondary metabolismo Energy, water, nutrient, and carbon-use efficiencyo Precision regulation strategies for plant factories and vertical farmso Crop adaptation and resilience under heat, salinity, drought, hypoxia, and other stresseso Digital twins, machine learning, and multi-objective optimization for facility managemento Integrated evaluation of yield, quality, environmental sustainability, and economic performance---------------------We welcome contributions from researchers across the field and are happy to support you as you prepare your submission. If you would like initial feedback on whether your planned manuscript aligns with the scope of this Research Topic, please reach out to us at plantscience@frontiersin.org before submitting. Early input can help ensure your work is a strong fit and save you time later in the process. To take part, click “Participate in this topic” at the top right of this page, and then confirm through the “Participate” link in the follow-up email. This lets us know to expect your contribution, keeps you informed of key deadlines, and gives you access to resources that guide you through submission. We look forward to your participation and to building a vibrant, cohesive Research Topic together.” Topic editors: Wei Lu, Uk-Hyeon Yeo, Sen Wang Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85528/intelligent-environmental-regulation-crop-physiological-adaptation-and-resource-efficiency-in-protected-agricultural-systems