Nighttime warming poses a threat to global food security as it is driving yield declines worldwide, but our understanding of the physiological basis of this phenomenon remains very limited. Furthermore, it is often assumed that such declines are driven solely by increases in nighttime temperature (T_Night). Here we argue that, in addition to temperature, increases in nighttime evaporative demand may ‘conspire’ to penalize yields and end-use quality traits. We propose an ecophysiological framework outlining the possible mechanistic basis of such declines in yield and quality. We suggest ways to use the proposed framework as a guide to future efforts aimed at alleviating productivity losses by integrating crop ecophysiology with modeling, breeding, and management.

夜间变暖对全球粮食安全构成威胁，因为它正在推动全球产量下降，但我们对这种现象的生理基础的理解仍然非常有限。此外，人们通常认为这种下降完全是由夜间温度（T _Night）的增加驱动的。在这里，我们认为，除了温度之外，夜间蒸发需求的增加可能会“合谋”损害产量和最终用途质量特性。我们提出了一个生态生理学框架，概述了产量和质量下降的可能机制基础。我们建议使用拟议框架作为未来努力的指南，这些努力旨在通过将作物生态生理学与建模、育种和管理相结合来减轻生产力损失。