Olive tree drought stress: A systematic review

Abstract

The olive tree is an ancient crop that has been continually cultivated in the Mediterranean region for many centuries. This ancient tree is generally known to be a drought-resistant crop; however, it is now threatened by climate change. The Mediterranean is one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to climate change effects, especially drought stress, with rising summer temperatures and low precipitation. This shows the significance of having a full knowledge of the various techniques that could contribute to drought stress monitoring and mitigation. On this note, some studies have conducted reviews on this scope. However, with the limitation of having an in-depth analysis and synthesis of the topic, this study tries to bridge the gaps by conducting a comprehensive review following a systematic approach with indepth analysis and synthesis to cover a wider scope and reveal the current state-of-the-art. The study contributes a comprehensive evaluation of olive tree drought stress monitoring methodologies, datasets, experiments, challenges, and potential future directions. The study also revealed that certain countries that are significant producers of olives are not adequately represented or studied in the field of olive drought stress. Furthermore, the study proposed a holistic AI-based framework for monitoring and mitigating drought stress.