Citation: Dumitru, E.A.; Berevoianu, R.L.; Tudor, V.C.; Teodorescu, F.-R.; Stoica, D.; Giuc ˘ a, A.; Ilie, D.; Sterie, C.M. Climate Change Impacts on Vegetable Crops: A Systematic Review. Agriculture 2023, 13, 1891. https://doi.org/10.3390/ agriculture13101891 Academic Editors: Camelia F. Oroian and Horat , iu Felix Arion Received: 21 August 2023 Revised: 25 September 2023 Accepted: 25 September 2023 Published: 27 September 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). agriculture Review Climate Change Impacts on Vegetable Crops: A Systematic Review Eduard Alexandru Dumitru 1 , Rozi Liliana Berevoianu 1 ,Valentina Constanta Tudor 2 , Florina-Ruxandra Teodorescu 2 , Dalila Stoica 1 , Andreea Giucă 1 , Diana Ilie 1 and Cristina Maria Sterie 1, * 1 Research Institute for Agriculture Economy and Rural Development, 010961 Bucharest, Romania; dumitru.eduard@iceadr.ro (E.A.D.); berevoianu.rozi@iceadr.ro (R.L.B.); stoica.gabriela@iceadr.ro (D.S.); giuca.daniela@iceadr.ro (A.G.); necula.diana@iceadr.ro (D.I.) 2 Faculty of Management and Rural Development, University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 010961 Bucharest, Romania; tudor.valentina@managusamv.ro (V.C.T.); ruxandra.teodorescu@nndkp.ro (F.-R.T.) * Correspondence: sterie.cristina@iceadr.ro Abstract: Agriculture is a fundamental aspect of our society, providing food and resources for a grow- ing population. However, climate change is putting this sector at risk through rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Our study highlights the need to address climate change in a differentiated way, taking into account the specificities of each agricultural sector, and therefore aims not only to organise and summarise current research but also to fill an important gap in the existing literature by focusing on the impact of climate change on vegetable crops. The topic was researched using the Web of Science and Scopus databases, where 219 publications were thoroughly reviewed and only those that fully addressed the impact of climate change on vegetable crops were selected. Of the 219 publications reviewed, only 53 focused exclusively on the effects of climate change on vegetable crops, indicating the need for more specialised research in this area, especially given the complex challenges that climate change poses not only in terms of yield but also non-trivial quality and food safety, and can be considered a future research prospect. Keywords: literature analysis; environmental factors; climatic disruptions; food security 1. Introduction Climate change is a pressing issue of the 21st century with several implications for both human life and the environment. Agriculture is one of the areas most affected by climate change, and it is a crucial sector for the global economy and food security. Vegetable crops, which play a crucial role in the global food system, can be deeply affected by climate fluctuations [1]. Increasing temperatures are likely to decrease the quantity of desirable crops, whilst fostering the growth of weeds and pests [2]. Alterations in rainfall cycles will increase the probability of short-term crop losses and long-term yield damage [3]. Furthermore, climate change may affect migration patterns, as people may move as a way of adapting to weather-related risks, particularly those affecting agriculture [4]. Subsis- tence or smallholder farmers in developing countries are among the groups most affected by climate change [5]. The vulnerability of these regions to climate change arises due to their predominantly tropical location, coupled with multiple socio-economic, demographic and political constraints that hinder their capacity to adapt to these changes [6]. Climate change has recently transformed the weed flora of agricultural ecosystems in Europe to a great extent. Thermophilic weeds, late-emerging weeds and certain opportunis- tic weeds have become more prevalent in certain cropping systems, for example [7]. The composition of weed species is influenced by environmental factors such as temperature and precipitation [8]. Agriculture 2023, 13, 1891. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13101891 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agriculture