Research Trends and Perspectives on Climate Change-Related Crop Studies Using Temperature Gradient Greenhouses
A temperature gradient greenhouse (TGG) is an experimental facility designed to generate a continuous longitudinal air-temperature gradient within a single greenhouse under natural light, thereby enabling the concurrent evaluation of crop responses across temperature levels under comparable radiation conditions. This paper summarizes the definition, structural features, and principles governing thermal-gradient formation and control in TGG, and synthesizes representative domestic and international studies that have used TGG-based systems to investigate crop responses relevant to climate change. Across studies, moderate warming generally accelerated crop growth and phenological development; however, temperatures exceeding crop- and ecotype-specific thresholds imposed physiological constraints, including reductions in photosynthetic capacity, disruption of stomatal regulation, and lower water-use efficiency. These limitations constrained assimilate partitioning and sink development, resulting in yield loss and quality deterioration, particularly during reproductive and yield-forming stages. Importantly, crop responses to temperature were typically nonlinear and characterized by critical thresholds rather than simple linear trends. TGG has structural and operational limitations, including vertical temperature heterogeneity, reduced photosynthetically active radiation due to cladding materials, and constraints in independent humidity and CO2 control; accordingly, it can be interpreted as an intermediate experimental platform positioned between the high field representativeness of FACE and the high environmental control precision of SPAR. We highlight the value of TGG for identifying stage-specific temperature sensitivities and nonlinear response functions, and discuss its potential contributions to crop modeling, production vulnerability assessment, and the development of climate-change adaptation strategies.