ISCRAES 2027: Roots of Resilience: The Land-Health Nexus as a Blueprint for Climate-Smart Food Systems

As global food systems face unprecedented pressures from climate risks and land degradation, the "Land-Health Nexus" represents a critical paradigm shift toward adopting an ecosystem-based approach to developing sustainable and environmentally friendly food production systems. Land-health serves as the foundation of broader ecosystem health, where healthy soils and resilient plants interact to support food production while mitigating climate change. This collection explores the feedback loops between carbon sequestration in soils and the reduction of atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs, notably nitrous oxide and methane), creating a holistic framework that spans crops, grasses, livestock, and agroforestry systems.By integrating digital innovations, such as AI-driven predictive modelling, remote sensing, and precision agriculture, this collection moves beyond observation to the active optimisation of production systems. These technologies function as a "digital nervous system," allowing real-time monitoring of GHG emissions and resource use efficiency. This provides the evidence-based strategies necessary to build climate-resilient agri-environmental and food systems that can secure global supplies while actively regenerating the natural resource base upon which they depend.We invite cross-disciplinary contributions that align with the 4th ISCRAES 2026 pillars, including but not limited to:• Soil and Land-Health: Mechanisms of carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, and enhancing biological resilience within the soil-water-plant-air continuum.• Resilient Crop and Food Systems: Development of stress-tolerant and low-carbon-footprint genotypes, diversified cropping systems, and the creation of sustainable, equitable value chains.• Digital Transformation: Application of AI-driven decision support, geospatial mapping for land-health monitoring, and IoT integration in precision farming for emission tracking.• Climate Mitigation and Adaptation: Advancements in low-carbon agri-food systems, management of GHG fluxes, nature-based solutions (NbS), and the scaling of regenerative agriculture.We welcome a diverse range of manuscript types, including but not limited to (a) Original Research and Methods; (b) Systematic and Policy Reviews; (c) Case Studies (demonstrating scalable field innovations), and (d) Perspectives and Brief Research Reports.While this Research Topic is specifically designed to capture the findings presented at the 4th ISCRAES, 21-23 June 2027, Dublin, Ireland, we extend a warm invitation to the broader scientific community. Submissions from non-attendees that align with the "Land-Health Nexus" framework are highly encouraged to ensure a global, multi-stakeholder perspective.Please submit your article using the submission platform: Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems (Lead Journal), cross-linked with Frontiers in Agronomy, Soil Science, and Climate. Topic editors: Mohammad Ibrahim Khalil, Bruce Arthur Osborne, Erin S. Sherry, Lilian M O'Sullivan Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80162/iscraes-2027-roots-of-resilience-the-land-health-nexus-as-a-blueprint-for-climate-smart-food-systems