Agroforestry protects arable crops from climate shock during critical early-season phenological stages - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Climate change poses significant threats to European agricultural production, with increasing frequency and severity of adverse weather events impacting crop yields. Agroforestry, the integration of woody elements into agricultural systems, is recognized as a vital agroecological approach for both climate change mitigation and adaptation, yet key mechanistic and long-term performance questions remain unresolved. This study utilized the mechanistic Hi-sAFe model to simulate 100 years (2001–2100) of silvoarable agroforestry performance at Wakelyns farm in southeastern England, focusing on winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) and pea (Pisum sativum) yields under intermediate (Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5) and very high (Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5) emissions scenarios. The research assessed yield stability, underlying microclimatic and phenological mechanisms, and long-term land-use efficiency (land equivalent ratio). This study demonstrates for the first time that agroforestry functions as a climate shock absorber by protecting crops during a critical early-season phenological window, preventing catastrophic yield failures under climate change scenarios. These protective effects were mechanistically linked to microclimatic modification, likely shade, provided by newly emerged walnut (Juglans regia) leaves during the early stages of crop flowering and grain filling, rather than during peak summer heat. While overall yield stability assessed statistically was not significantly enhanced, the mitigation of extreme downside risk represents a profound benefit for farm resilience. Analysis of land equivalent ratio revealed a substantial initial productivity lag, with consistent land equivalent ratio > 1 achieved only after 80 years for wheat and 40 years for pea, highlighting economic adoption barriers but also the potential for optimized system design and adaptive management to accelerate productivity gains. Overall, these results identify a previously unreported mechanistic and temporal basis for agroforestry’s capacity to buffer temperate arable crops against climate-induced yield shocks.

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Global determinants of yield variability under sustainable farming approaches across climate, soil, and topography. A meta-analysis - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Enhancing ecosystem services without compromising crop productivity is a central challenge for sustainable agriculture, yet biophysical drivers of yield variability across farming approaches remain poorly resolved. Here, we provide the first comparative global assessment of how climate, soil, and topographic conditions shape yield responses to agroforestry, cover cropping, no-tillage, and organic farming by synthesizing global meta-analytic datasets and linking field comparisons to a common framework of biophysical moderators. Across all sustainable farming approaches, there was no significant overall yield difference relative to conventional management (1.1%; 95% confidence interval –0.7 to 3.0%), but outcomes diverged across biophysical contexts. While agroforestry and cover cropping showed statistically significant positive yield effects under specific aridity conditions, no-tillage was consistently associated with statistically significant yield reductions in wetter environments, and organic farming showed no significant overall effect. Responses across soil and topographic gradients were context-dependent, with significant effects observed for specific soil types and elevated or sloping landscapes, whereas most other patterns were not consistently statistically significant. These findings demonstrate that environmental heterogeneity governs yield responses to sustainable farming approaches and support context-specific implementation strategies to improve agricultural sustainability and resilience.

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Integrating legumes into cropping systems increases soil carbon and nitrogen content while it reduces the soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. A meta-analysis - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Integrating legumes into cropping systems offers a promising strategy to mitigate the decline in soil fertility caused by continuous agricultural intensification. However, existing studies have mainly examined individual soil carbon or nitrogen indicators, or have been conducted within limited contexts, leaving a comprehensive understanding of soil carbon and nitrogen responses at the global scale lacking. We therefore conducted a global meta-analysis of 1199 observations from 173 field experiments to evaluate integrating legumes into cropping systems impacts on soil carbon and nitrogen under diverse management practices and environmental conditions. Our results showed that integrating legumes into cropping systems significantly increased the soil organic carbon and total nitrogen content by 4.60% and 7.90%, respectively, while reducing the soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio by 2.37%. Changes in soil organic carbon and total nitrogen due to legume integration were positively correlated with mean annual precipitation and mean annual temperature, but negatively correlated with initial soil organic carbon and initial soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. Integrating legumes as cover crops led to greater increases in soil organic carbon and total nitrogen, whereas the reduction in soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio was more pronounced when legumes were used as main crops. Moreover, soil organic carbon and total nitrogen increased when legumes replaced fallow or gramineous crops, whereas soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio significantly decreased only when legumes replaced gramineous crops. Furthermore, the benefits of integrating legumes into cropping systems on soil organic carbon and soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio were amplified by greater crop diversity. Overall, this study provides the first comprehensive global synthesis of the effects of integrating legumes into cropping systems on soil carbon and nitrogen status, quantifies how environmental conditions and management practices modulate these effects, and provides practical guidance for the site-specific implementation of legume-based cropping systems in sustainable agriculture.

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Climate change adaptation of Iberian dehesa: a simulation approach using the Hi-sAFe model - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Agroforestry is a promising solution to enhance the resilience of agricultural systems against climate change. However, evidence on the long-term response of semi-natural agroforestry systems, such as extensive silvopastures, remains limited. To address this knowledge gap, this study assessed the production and temporal stability of a Mediterranean silvopastoral system, the Iberian dehesa, under climate change. The process-based Hi-sAFe model was used to simulate tree growth, pasture production, and their temporal stability from 1990 to 2100 under the very high emissions Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 scenario in open grasslands and silvopastures with 25 and 50 trees ha-1. Simulations were validated with long-term data on tree growth (2011-2023) and pasture production (2014-2024). We explored the optimal farm composition to maximize production and its temporal stability. The model accurately simulated tree growth (stem diameter; RMSE=1.63 cm, R2 = 0.98) and pasture production (RMSE=0.4 t ha-1, R2=0.95). Results indicated higher tree development and pasture biomass temporal stability at 25 than at 50 trees ha-1, with 40% and 111% higher diameter increase and temporal stability, respectively. Open pastures had higher productivity than agroforestry and declined at all tree land covers over the 1990-2100 period. The agroforestry scenario at 25 trees ha-1 showed the smallest decrease in pasture production (-1.4 kg ha-1 yr-1), compared to open pastures (-2.1 kg ha-1 yr-1) and 50 trees ha-1 (-4.1 kg ha-1 yr-1), indicating a buffering effect against increased aridity. The optimal farm composition showed an increasing share of agroforestry at 25 trees ha-1 density as climate change effects intensify. At the farm/landscape scale, a combination of open pastures and dehesas with different tree densities is recommended. This is the first study to apply the Hi-sAFe model to complex silvopastoral systems, indicating its usefulness and limitations in exploring trends and outcomes associated with different tree density scenarios under climate change.

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Selected native genotypes, plantation design, and management intensity boost fine flavor cacao productivity - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Native fine flavor cacao fetches premium prices on specialty markets, owing to its superior sensorial traits. However, alleged low productivity limits its planting, and high-yielding bulk cacao dominates the international market. Overcoming the yield gap is necessary to promote fine flavor cacao and thus conserve cacao’s native genetic diversity, while increasing farmers’ revenues. We studied the compatibility and yield potential of six Blanco de Piura cacao genotypes, a fine flavour landrace from northwestern Peru. We compared planting designs with different genotype diversity and assessed the impact of plantation management intensity (frequency of pruning and removal of infested pods) on productivity. Following renewing the canopy of adult cacao trees using grafting, we quantified the yields of the six white-bean genotypes on 12 smallholder farms using three clonal designs: (1) monoclonal (one genotype per plot), (2) polyclonal rows (three genotypes alternated by row), and (3) polyclonal trees (three genotypes per tree). Yields were monitored for 3 years, starting 2 years after grafting, and compared with non-grafted controls. After 3 years, grafted trees yielded 59% more cacao than non-grafted controls, regardless of clonal design and management intensity. Monoclonal designs performed best under intensive management, whereas polyclonal designs excelled under poor management, suggesting that diversification is most beneficial for farmers with limited management capacity. Cacao yields on frequently managed farms were 118% higher than on poorly managed farms, reaching 1200–1500 kg dry beans/ha. Polyclonal trees offered no yield advantage over polyclonal rows, suggesting that the close vicinity of different genetic materials may not represent a benefit for cross-pollination by non-flying insects. We conclude that canopy renewal can increase the yield of native fine flavor cacao, matching or surpassing levels of high-yielding bulk cacao under smallholder farming conditions. A translated version of this manuscript in Spanish is available online.

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Experts expect European agroforestry systems to stabilize crop yields under climate change - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Climate change is having an impact on European agricultural systems and will increasingly do so into the future. Agroforestry, the integration of trees or shrubs in agricultural production systems, has been repeatedly described as a productive, sustainable, and resilient approach to food production. Quantifying agricultural benefits of agroforestry in the context of resilience to current and future climate change in Europe is challenging. To fill this knowledge gap, we gathered the assessments of 60 experts on the resilience of different forms of agroforestry (silvoarable, silvopastoral, and systems with hedgerows, riparian buffer strips, and windbreaks) in diverse European regions to various climate change variables. Across all regions and independently of the agroforestry system type, agroforestry systems were observed to show stable yields (0% change in yield compared to −8% in non-agroforestry systems). Experts expected yields in non-agroforestry to decline by 20% until 2050, while agroforestry systems were expected to maintain stable yields (0% change). This gap was highest in Central and Eastern Europe. In north-western and northern Europe, small yield increases were expected in agroforestry systems. Silvopastoral, silvoarable, and systems with hedgerows, riparian buffer strips, and windbreaks were similar in terms of observed and expected yield changes. The quality of saleable agricultural products until 2050 was estimated to be reduced in non-agroforestry systems, particularly in arable and hedgeless systems. Heavy precipitation events, prolonged drought, late frost, summer heat waves, and hail were the main threats by climate change–related threats listed by experts. Our online expert study is a novel approach to quantify agricultural benefits and emphasizes a general resilience of agroforestry systems to climate change impacts, regardless of the exact system type and climate region.

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Driving climate resilience: citizen attitudes toward agroforestry and their policy implications in the UK - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Agroforestry provides essential ecosystem services while enhancing climate resilience and biodiversity in rural landscapes. Despite a growing body of research on farmers’ adoption of agroforestry, much less is known about citizens’ attitudes and priorities. Citizen disapproval of agroforestry practices or policies may undermine the legitimacy of these initiatives and impede their long-term implementation. This risk is particularly relevant in countries where agroforestry is being promoted as a national policy priority, such as the UK. We surveyed 1509 UK citizens to examine their attitudes toward agroforestry, explore factors influencing these attitudes, and study how these factors operate across distinct segments of the sample. Overall, participants expressed neutral to positive attitudes toward agroforestry. Benefits associated with climate resilience (wildlife habitat creation, greenhouse gas capture, and flood control) were rated most highly. Negative socio-economic consequences (delayed benefit realization, higher input requirements, and potential stakeholder conflicts) were identified as representing the greatest risks. Structural equation modeling validated a novel hybrid model explaining participants’ attitudes toward agroforestry, highlighting three primary drivers: evoked affect, perceived benefits, and the perceived importance of environmental conservation in farming. Latent class analysis identified three distinct citizen groups. The negative impact of perceived risk associated with agroforestry on attitudes was greatest among cautious conservation-oriented citizens. The positive impact of perceived threat to the rural environment exceeded the influence of perceived importance of environmental conservation in farming among citizens sensitive to threats to the rural environment. Among countryside-engaged eco-productive citizens, perceived importance of both environmental conservation and food productivity as well as attachment to the countryside emerged as strong positive predictors of acceptance. Our results provide evidence for adopting a holistic approach that accounts for diverse citizen preferences when promoting agroforestry across UK regions, and highlight the importance of addressing multiple ecosystem services at the landscape level in agroforestry policies.

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Opportunities for methanotrophs to contribute to sustainable agronomy. A review - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Methanotrophs are methane (CH4)-oxidizing proteobacteria and archaea that occupy most ecological niches. Their contributions towards regulating global CH4 budgets, potential to generate high-value carbon products, and capacity to mitigate contaminant impacts have been exhaustively reviewed. Another, less explored, area where methanotrophs offer enormous potential is sustainable agronomy. Agricultural settings host extensive methanotrophic communities. However, disturbance within these landscapes can disrupt community function and impede methane oxidation efficiency. In this review, we evaluate the opportunity for abating agricultural CH4 emissions via methanotrophy using a novel approach that integrates potential across multiple emission sources. First, we appraise agricultural settings which are simultaneously CH4 emission and methanotrophy hotspots. We then estimate the quantity of CH4 available for abatement in these hotspots and propose methods to enhance methanotrophy. Finally, we evaluate and synthesize ecosystem services that methanotrophs offer to the agronomic sector. We identified four substantial agricultural CH4 hotspots with high potential for improved CH4 oxidation: (1) rice farming, (2) livestock lagoons/ponds, (3) grazing pastures on heavy soils, and (4) tropical/lowland cane farming. The total pool of anthropogenic CH4 that can be mitigated in these systems exceeds 1.5 Gt carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-e) year−1, which is almost 20% of total global anthropogenic CH4 emissions. Within these systems, methanotroph resilience and re-establishment can be enhanced by the following: using alternatives to acidifying ammonia-based fertilizers; aerating soils with high surface area amendments, like biochar; reduced tillage; promoting biological activity on the boundaries of livestock ponds; and soil application of biofertilizers containing plant growth–promoting rhizosphere microorganisms. The potential agricultural services offered by methanotrophs are profound and include increased nitrogen and carbon fixation, and soil nutrient mining. We conclude that enhancing methanotrophy in agricultural settings not only offers an opportunity to meaningfully reduce emissions driving climate change, but also presents attractive economic and environmental benefits for the agronomic sector.

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Sustainability of biodegradable superabsorbent hydrogels in agriculture. A review - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Biodegradable superabsorbent hydrogels have been proposed as soil conditioners to mitigate agricultural water stress, yet evidence on their agronomic relevance and environmental safety remains fragmented and contradictory. This review synthesizes current knowledge across five domains: material composition, swelling performance, biodegradation, field-scale application, and economic viability. A recurring performance–sustainability paradox is identified, whereby formulations that improve swelling stability and durability often compromise biodegradability, while environmentally benign designs show poor persistence and limited field efficacy. A critical analysis reveals a systematic overestimation of performance in laboratory studies relative to field conditions. Swelling capacities measured in distilled water are often 5–10 times higher than those realized in field soils, and biodegradation studies predominantly rely on indirect proxies rather than confirming complete mineralization, leaving ecological risks unresolved. Field application techniques, such as broadcasting, incorporation, and seed coating, provide localized benefits but lack scalability. Meanwhile, high production costs and incomplete life cycle assessments undermine claims of sustainability. Unlike earlier descriptive reviews, this study offers a critical integrative synthesis across technical, agronomic, ecological, and economic dimensions. Future progress depends on whole-system frameworks that incorporate standardized agro-climatic testing, isotopic tracing, and metagenomic monitoring of biodegradation, mechanized delivery technologies, and life cycle assessment. Such interdisciplinary validation is essential for harmonizing performance with sustainability and advancing BSAHs from experimental prototypes to credible tools for climate-resilient agriculture.

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Ecosystem services and management options of grass-based cover crops in Mediterranean climates: a review - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Grasses constitute a key functional group in cover cropping strategies, particularly under the challenging conditions of Mediterranean climates, owing to their drought tolerance, rapid development, high biomass production, and extensive ground cover. Although their role in enhancing ecosystem services and supporting sustainable agroecosystems is increasingly recognized, a comprehensive synthesis specifically addressing Mediterranean climates is still lacking. To evaluate management options for efficient cover cropping strategies and the associated ecosystem services, this systematic review synthesizes evidence from 64 peer-reviewed field studies on grass cover crops, grown as single species or within grass-based mixtures, across three major Mediterranean agroecosystems (vineyards, orchards, and arable cropping systems). The following key points emerged: (1) cool-season grass species, either grain annual cereals or perennial forages, are the most effective at increasing soil organic matter content and nutrient availability, decreasing soil erosion, and suppressing weeds in Mediterranean environments; (2) if not properly managed, grass cover crops can compete with cash crops, immobilize soil N, and decrease crop yield; (3) species selection should be based on specific pedo-climatic characteristics and intended agronomic purposes; (4) despite context-specific differences, recommended management options in Mediterranean climate regions include drill planting, early autumn sowing, an appropriate seeding rate, and timely mechanical termination; and (5) optimizing cover cropping management based on biomass production and C/N ratio can help balance benefits and trade-offs, enabling targeted enhancement of specific ecosystem services. Grasses, when combined with legumes, often deliver even greater ecosystem services than when grown alone, as legumes complement grasses by increasing N availability, improving residue quality, and supporting more balanced biomass production. We conclude that grass cover crops hold considerable promise for promoting sustainable Mediterranean agriculture but require more long-term, multifunctional research to optimize their use.

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Sustainable resource optimization for tomato cultivation in a rooftop greenhouse: an 8-year case study - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Tomato is one of the most popular and consumed crops worldwide and its cultivation via hydroponic techniques is widespread. In this study, we evaluated the performance of an evolving management strategy through an iterative system design over 8 years in an integrated-rooftop greenhouse in Barcelona. Yield, solar radiation, water and nutrient consumption, and environmental impacts through Life Cycle Assessment were analysed. We hypothesized that improving irrigation management, partially substituting mineral fertilizers with recovered nutrients, and ensuring optimal solar radiation would enhance tomato productivity while reducing the environmental impact. The highest productivity was obtained in 2023 (49 g plant−1 day−1), in a cycle using 100 g plant−1 of struvite and in a cycle using mineral fertilization. The replacement of deteriorated polycarbonate sheets in 2023 increased greenhouse solar transmissivity and led to the highest productivity. Life Cycle Assessment impacts were mainly driven by crop yields, growing system characteristics, and energy required to power artificial lighting or nebulization systems, among other inputs. The lowest environmental impacts were obtained in the 2017 cycle (0.54 kg CO2 eq.) followed by the 2023 cycle (0.94 kg CO2 eq.), in which the highest yields were produced thanks to optimal solar transmissivity, dynamic fertigation, and/or struvite. The highest environmental impacts (3.84–12.05 kg CO2 eq.) were achieved in cycles with the lowest productivity (0.9–3.3 kg m−2) and in cycles using artificial lighting in the greenhouse (3.71 kg CO2 eq.) or in an indoor environment (7.07 kg CO2 eq.). Our findings demonstrate that statistically higher yields and environmental sustainability can be achieved by adopting struvite-based fertilization and regularly replacing the greenhouse covering material to ensure maximum light transmissivity. This research provides valuable and novel insights into optimizing tomato cultivation in rooftop greenhouses, achieving constant yields, and reducing the environmental footprints thus contributing to sustainable food production.

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Combining participatory approach and modeling to quantify spatial interdependencies in pest control services - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Reinforcing the regulation of pests by their natural enemies is a promising way of reducing the use of pesticides and can be achieved through the adoption of management options at multiple scales, from field to landscape. In practice, however, most management efforts concentrate on modifying farming practices at the field level and examples of implementation of landscape-scale pest management strategies are scarce. Here, we report on place-based research that combined the co-design of scenarios of landscape-scale changes in farming practices and ex ante evaluation of pest control services under such scenarios, through the development of predictive models mobilizing long-term local data in two contrasting landscape case studies. We found that scenarios of farming change and predictive models of pest control services were site-specific. In both case studies, we show a high degree of spatial interdependency between farmers in the delivery of on-farm pest control services and, more importantly, that a wide adoption of pest control friendly-farming practices in the landscape leads to a win-win situation for each individual farmer. Farms that implemented changes were predicted to increase on-farm pest control services between 2% and 25%, depending on the changes in farming practices and case studies. When changes were implemented more widely at the landscape scale, the gain varied between 12.5% and 20% in farms where changes were implemented and between 9% and 12.5% in farms where no changes in practices were implemented. Additional gains were obtained when neighboring farmers collaborated and adjusted crop allocation on their farm in order to optimize pest control services at the landscape scale. This outcome reinforced the positive attitude of farmers towards the idea of acting collectively to promote pest control services, although such collective management was not perceived as being easy to implement and should be accompanied.

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Living mulch in fruit and olive orchards. A review - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Sustainable weed management is a key challenge in fruit and olive orchards. Conventional practices, such as intensive weed control and monoculture, can degrade soil quality and reduce biodiversity, threatening long-term productivity. Living mulch, defined as an herbaceous soil coverage, grown alongside the main crop, represents a promising agroecological strategy for enhancing ecosystem services. However, current knowledge on living mulch in orchards remains fragmented, with studies often focusing on single ecosystem functions and providing context-dependent and sometimes contrasting results. This limits the ability to identify consistent patterns and to support practical decision-making. To address this gap, this systematic review synthesizes and integrates the available evidence on the effects of living mulch on orchard agroecosystems, focusing on weed suppression, soil fertility, biodiversity, soil physical and chemical properties, pest control, agronomic performance, and tree root system dynamics. Findings indicate that living mulch contributes to undesired species suppression (82 records), increases biodiversity and soil fertility (109 records), enhances soil microbial activity and nutrient cycling (120 records), improves soil structure and water retention (66 records), and supports beneficial insect populations for natural pest control (49 records). However, living mulch may also introduce challenges such as resource competition with fruit trees and potentially provide habitats for rodents. The magnitude of these effects varies depending on species selection, pedoclimatic conditions, and management practices. A satisfactory outcome of introducing living mulch in an orchard depends on selecting the appropriate living mulch species and management practices, as well as on shifting farmers’ perspectives to emphasize the long-term ecosystem services of living mulches rather than focusing solely on short-term crop yield. A participatory approach involving farmers is essential for optimizing living mulch integration into orchard systems. Long-term studies are needed to assess the resilience and productivity of living mulch-based management strategies over time.

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Complementarity promotes overyielding in grass-legume intercropping - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Interspecific complementarity effect and selection effect are crucial for the positive relationship between diversity and productivity in ecosystems, yet their evolution over time in intercropping systems, especially under varying spatial configurations and management practices such as weeding, is not well understood. This study provides the first assessment of the relative importance of climate variability, spatial configuration (planting distance between coexisting species), and weeding practices in shaping the biodiversity effects that drive overyielding in grass–legume intercropping systems. A four-year field experiment (2020-2023) was conducted to investigate net biodiversity effects in grass-legume intercropping (Leymus chinensis and Medicago sativa). Five planting modes—two monocultures and three spatial intercropping configurations (mixed-within-row, alternate-one-row, and alternate-two-rows)—were tested under no-weeding and weeding treatments. Aboveground biomass and biodiversity effects (net biodiversity effect, complementarity effect, selection effect) were assessed. Complementarity effect was the primary contributor to positive biodiversity effects and increased with greater spatial separation. This was most evident in the alternate-two-rows configuration, which reduced interspecific competition and enhanced the complementarity effect by 56.99% (no-weeding) and 136.95% (weeding) relative to the mixed-within-row setup. In contrast, selection effects decreased substantially - by 24.55% without weeding and 166.64% with weeding, indicating a substantial reduction in the influence of dominant species. Climatic factors, especially increased precipitation, boosted the complementarity effect, while uneven rainfall distribution negatively impacted productivity in the final year. Weeding treatments had minimal impact, highlighting spatial configuration and climate as dominant drivers of biodiversity effects. Our findings suggest that strategic intercropping improves yield sustainability and resilience to climatic variations.

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Ecological intensification for pesticide-free plantain production in Central and West Africa: a review - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Plantain productivity in Central and West Africa remains critically low in cropping systems, ranging from only 5–15 t/ha/year compared with a potential of 30–50 t/ha/year under optimal conditions. Thus, plantain cropping systems fail to meet growing market demand. Plantain monocultures, modelled on intensive banana production systems and reliant on chemical pesticides, are emerging as a response to this deficit. However, they have been unable to improve productivity: plant-productivity and field longevity remain stagnant. Moreover, conventional intensification is known to be harmful to the health of populations and the environment. Based on a review of agronomic research, we analyzed 349 references addressing the five previously identified major production constraints: black weevils, nematodes, black leaf streak disease, weeds, and soil fertility. Our analysis reveals that 88% of studied management practices are based on alternatives to chemical pesticides. However, this knowledge remains largely confined to experimental settings and has had minimal impact on producer practices and field productivity, despite decades of agronomic research. We identify critical knowledge gaps for improving productivity: insufficient knowledge concerning varietal diversity and its potential, limited access to healthy planting material, pest and disease management strategies that are unsuitable to local conditions and poorly adopted, incomplete knowledge of nutrient requirements, and poorly documented crop associations. Based on these findings, we propose to detail five agronomic priorities that could enable pesticide-free plantain production through agroecological practices. This transition also requires strengthening knowledge co-construction between researchers, extension services, and producers to bridge the gap between available scientific knowledge and producer practices. We argue that ecological intensification represents the most viable pathway to sustainably close the plantain yield gap while preserving natural resources and public health in Central and West Africa

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Rice straw mulch reduces soil salinity and increases beetroot and maize production in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Salinity is becoming a major threat to the growth of continuous rice crops in the low-elevation Vietnamese Mekong Delta. Seawater is increasingly permeating up the river and irrigation water distribution systems in the dry season. There is insufficient knowledge of possible alternatives to rice and management practices during this season to maintain crop production. We assessed the growth of beetroot and maize and tested the value of rice-straw mulch at four rates (0, 3.5, 7.0, and 10.5 t ha−1) at three sites over two years. At the two higher elevation locations (Lieu Tu and Long Phu, 0.80 and 0.96 m above mean sea level (amsl), respectively), dry season crops were successfully grown for 2 years and high levels of production were possible with beetroot and maize (average commercial crop yields up to 42 and 5.4 t ha−1, respectively) while crops could not be established at the low elevation site (Long My, 0.21 m amsl) due to inundation effects. For beetroot and maize, application of mulch increased commercial crop yields by up to 114% and 49%, respectively, decreased the concentrations of Na+ in the shoots of plants at harvest by 19% and 37%, respectively, and decreased the salinity (EC1:5) of the topsoil (0–15 cm) by 13%. Mulch effects were maximized at an application rate of 7.0 t ha−1. Analysis of relationships between soil salinities at different depths and yield and between mulch effects and yield suggested that the rooting depth of beetroot may have been constrained at these sites compared with maize. Very shallow water tables (~20 cm depth) were implicated as the likely cause of this constraint. In overview, our work suggests that exceptional yields of beetroot and maize are possible as alternative crops to rice in this delta environment where salinity and waterlogging are key risks.

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Agroforestry adaptation by farm households in northwestern Vietnam: resource needs and implications for practice and policy - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

In northwestern Vietnam, agroforestry is promoted to enhance environmental sustainability and support livelihoods, especially in resource-constrained situations. However, farmers adapt agroforestry in diverse ways, and there is still limited structured understanding of how differences in farm resources and configurations shape adoption patterns and support needs. Lack of knowledge about adoption patterns limits the design of cost-effective interventions. To fill this gap, we employed a participatory approach to develop a farm typology that links farm structure, agroforestry adoption patterns and group-specific constraints. Survey data from 101 households were analyzed using archetype analysis to identify distinct farm profiles. These profiles were validated through a series of farmer workshops to explore group-specific constraints and support needs. The archetype analysis identified three distinct agroforestry archetypes, each reflecting unique resource constraints. Archetype 1 and Archetype 2 both represent small-scale farmers with limited agricultural labor and diversified livelihood activities, but they differ in land configuration: Archetype 1 farmers manage more consolidated land and maintain high crop and tree diversity, whereas Archetype 2 farmers operate highly fragmented, small plots with limited potential to diversify. Archetype 3 farmers operate the largest farms among the three groups; they rely on annual crops and show the lowest agroforestry adoption level, with moderate species diversity in their agroforestry systems. Across archetypes, farmers emphasized needs for market access, as well as financial support for production inputs, tree seedlings and irrigation systems, system diversification and technical knowledge. Yet the rationale for these needs differed across groups. Our study is novel in combining data-driven archetype analysis with participatory validation to generate an action-oriented understanding of farm heterogeneity. The results show that support strategies should not only respond to common needs but also to the distinct constraints shaping agroforestry adoption across different farm contexts, highlighting the importance of context-specific, constraint-aware agroforestry policy and extension.

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Improving ecosystem services with alfalfa meal in highly intensive organic soil-based and soilless greenhouse systems - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Amid the dual challenge of adapting to and mitigating climate change, greenhouse production is expanding. Greenhouse systems present promising avenues for sustainable intensification, yet their sustainability remains constrained by fertilization practices. Plant-based fertilizers like alfalfa meal represent a promising alternative to contentious organic fertilizers, but their ability to sustain productivity in highly intensive systems is uncertain. This study aimed to (i) compare ecosystem service provisioning between soil-based and soilless greenhouse systems and (ii) evaluate the potential of substituting a standard organic fertilization regime with alfalfa meal. In total, 11 indicators of ecosystem (dis)services associated with food production, climate/soil regulation, and air/water pollution were assessed over two crop cycles, grown under three fertilization regimes, where 0%, 50%, or 100% of N was supplied as alfalfa meal, alongside a control. The soilless system reduced disservices linked to N losses (N2O, NH3, and N leaching) but increased CH₄ emissions. Across systems, alfalfa meal decreased N losses while enhancing soil N and C pools, earthworm, bacterial, and fungal abundance. In the soil-based system, yields were largely unaffected by N substitution, reflecting strong reliance on soil N reserves, as indicated by the low fertilizer recovery (28.3%). In the soilless system, partial N substitution with alfalfa meal maintained yield, even though fertilizer recovery was high (75.3%). This work provides the first comparative study of soil-based and soilless greenhouse systems and the first report on alfalfa meal use in intensive greenhouse production. Total N losses were low (1.1–4.0% of applied N), well below values reported in previous studies, confirming that both cultivation methods can sustain high provisioning services while limiting disservices linked to N losses. Our findings also demonstrate that alfalfa meal is an effective N source, and future research should focus on refining its integration through whole-system approaches that balance trade-offs between ecosystem services.

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Maize-bean row intercropping in Rwanda: labor constraints limit application despite nutritional and economic benefits - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Rapid population growth in sub-Saharan Africa is intensifying pressure on food security and reinforcing the need for sustainable agricultural intensification. Maize–bean intercropping presents an opportunity to enhance and stabilize crop productivity in this region. Row intercropping—an arrangement in which two or more crops are planted in intentional row patterns—has been promoted as an efficient alternative to sole crops and traditional mixed intercropping. Yet, evidence of its performance across diverse soils and climates remains limited. This study evaluates the multicriteria performance of maize–bean row intercropping compared with sole cropping and mixed intercropping under contrasting farm conditions. We conducted a large-scale, multiseason on-farm study with 382 trials across a wide range of environments in Rwanda. A novel aspect of this study is to move beyond yield-focused intercropping assessments by jointly considering productivity, nutritional outcomes, labor requirements, economic returns, and farmers’ preferences, while uniquely monitoring application rates 4 years after the trials. These dimensions were assessed across a wide range of soil, climate, and socioeconomic farm conditions. Overall, row intercropping had better land use efficiency and higher energy yield and profitability than sole and mixed intercropping systems. It achieved higher land use efficiency in less favorable environments, while its yield stability was comparable to the other cropping systems tested. However, its higher labor requirements, especially at planting, when labor demand peaks, led to only moderate farmer preference. Four years after the trials, application remained limited, with only 30% of participating farmers continuing to use row intercropping despite its higher yields. To enhance adoption, we recommend developing flexible guidelines that allow farmers to adapt practices to their specific needs, introducing labor-saving innovations to reduce the workload at planting, and targeting dissemination to fields with biophysical conditions where row intercropping is expected to deliver the strongest performance.

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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi contribute more to phosphorus uptake by oats under long-term conservation agriculture than under conventional tillage - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, important soil phosphorus mobilizers in natural systems, become gradually impoverished by high fertilization and tillage in conventional agricultural systems. The effects of management practices on their capacity to transfer phosphorus to crops have however not been directly measured under field conditions and their contribution to crop nutrition when management changes remain unknown. We compared the specific contribution of native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to P uptake of oats under long-term conservation agriculture or conventional tillage and explored whether 19 years of conservation agriculture had improved their P transfer capacity to oat plants. We expected that preserved mycorrhizal communities and hyphal networks under conservation agriculture increased the transfer of labeled P from a confined location in the soil to oat shoots. Local soil labeled with 33P was buried between rows in mesh bags that excluded roots or allowed roots and mycelium. Plant and mycorrhizal development, and 33P transfer to shoots, were followed in mesh bags and shoots from seedling to grain filling stage. 33P transferred to shoots and root-length specific 33P uptake were significantly higher in the conservation agriculture than in the conventional tillage treatment. 33P transfer by conventional tillage roots was similar to transfer by non-mycorrhizal roots. 33P transfer to oats plants was positively related to root length and root colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Our results provide evidence of higher P transfer capacity of mycorrhizal oat roots when native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi communities and their networks were preserved through long-term conservation agriculture. This is one of the few studies showing the otherwise hidden specific contribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to crop P nutrition under realistic field conditions and the first to document the improvement in 33P transfer when oat roots were colonized by local fungi from the soil under long-term reduced disturbance by tillage.

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Straw return enhances phosphorus availability via divergent effects on soil pH: a meta-analysis - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Enhancing soil phosphorus (P) availability is crucial for the sustainable utilization of nonrenewable P fertilizer resources. Straw return was found to influence soil P availability; however, its magnitude and governing factors across large geographical areas remain largely uncertain. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a global meta-analysis of 477 field experiments from 181 sites worldwide. We showed that straw return significantly enhanced soil available P and crop P-uptake by 12.8% and 15.0%, respectively. Soil pH was identified as the most important factor. With increasing soil pH, both response indices decreased in acidic soils, whereas they increased in alkaline soils. This concave relationship was attributed to the fact that straw return increases pH in acidic soils but decreases it in alkaline soils. Our study presents the first integrative assessment of straw return-induced enhancement in soil P availability at a global scale, providing new insights into the sustainable utilization of crop straw and P fertilizer resources.

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Exploring the logics of farmers’ equipment management for species mixtures: case studies from France - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Species mixtures are one of the levers for sustainable agriculture, as they can allow the reduction of environmental impacts while maintaining yields. Farmers face challenges in implementing them, however — notably technical difficulties and constraints related to cultivation and post-harvest sorting equipment. This study explores farmers’ agricultural equipment fleet management logics in the context of arable species mixture cultivation, a blind spot in the scientific literature. Our research methodology draws on the innovation tracking approach. Data were collected through interviews with 13 farmers cultivating species mixtures across France. We examined: (i) the characteristics and management of mixtures, as farmers consider them when selecting and using equipment, (ii) the technical features of the equipment used — including modifications and farmer-driven design, and (iii) farmers’ overall logic for managing their equipment fleets. The results reveal six categories of species mixtures, distinguished by their spatial arrangement and sowing depth, both closely linked to equipment use. Farmers use a wide diversity of equipment, often modified or repurposed to suit specific mixtures, such as seed drills adapted to sow different species at distinct depths. Three main management logics were identified among the interviewees: (i) minimizing costs through existing equipment reuse, (ii) adapting equipment to the biological characteristics of species mixtures, and (iii) making equipment choices based on local resources. Here we demonstrate how the management of agricultural equipment is a central lever for species mixture cultivation. This study offers new insights into equipment for agroecological farming practices, providing reflexive guidance for researchers, advisers, and equipment manufacturers involved in the transition toward more sustainable agriculture.

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A framework for assessing multi-hazard risk dynamics: application to South African maize production - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Climate change amplifies extreme weather events, posing critical risks to South African agriculture, where rainfed farming and climatic variability heighten vulnerability. Maize, the country’s staple crop, is sensitive to compounded hazards. However, current risk assessments largely consider hazards in isolation and often fail to capture their interactions across time, space, and crop development stages, limiting their usefulness for decision-making. Therefore, this paper presents a novel risk-scoring system within a multi-hazard assessment framework applied to South African maize production. This system integrates irrigation-defined clusters, climatic indices, and crop-stage-specific dynamics. Climatic hazards—including droughts, heatwaves, cold spells, heavy rainfall, diseases, and frost—were profiled, and risk scores calculated from their correlations with yield. Statistical models, linking spatio-temporal yield variability to multi-hazard risk scores, captured how hazard interactions compound across regions, irrigation levels, and phenological stages. Results show that yield losses are not driven by the number of hazards occurring each year, but by specific hazard interactions across phenological stages. Yield gaps between rainfed and moderately irrigated systems narrow from 41% at a risk score of 0 (lowest) to 9% at 8 (highest), suggesting that moderate irrigation cannot fully mitigate high risks. Yield gaps between rainfed and highly irrigated systems widen from 47% to 71%, indicating greater stability under higher risk conditions. Normalized average risk scores (0–1) were lower in highly irrigated systems (0.13–0.14), moderate in moderately irrigated systems (0.23–0.36), and highly variable in rainfed systems (0.00–0.90). In rainfed systems, all hazard profiles negatively impact yields, with the drought-heatwave combination presenting the highest risks. While irrigation reduces drought stress, it can also amplify challenges under combined heat and high-moisture conditions by promoting waterlogging and disease outbreaks. These findings identify the most critical hazard interactions, across irrigation levels and growth stages, supporting more targeted and context-specific risk management strategies.

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Soil-health frameworks in agri-food systems. A review - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Soil health is central to agroecological transitions, yet guidance for integrating it into agri-food system design and monitoring remains fragmented. Institutions increasingly use frameworks to define indicators, guide interventions, and report progress against climate, biodiversity, and food-security agendas. However, to our knowledge, there is no integrative soil health framework which coherently links biophysical diagnostics, socio-institutional enablers, and multiscale accountability. This leaves critical gaps in design, sequencing, and measurement of agroecological transitions. Here we review how soil health is operationalized within agroecology and agri-food systems and translate these patterns into an actionable programming guide. We reviewed 64 frameworks and extracted 652 indicators across 12 agroecological principles to build a framework-by-principle evidence matrix. Frameworks were classified by use-orientation (theory, practice, analysis), and indicator thematic profiles were analyzed using hierarchical clustering with adaptive branch detection. The major findings are as follows: (1) framework evolution exhibits four chronological waves with shifts from conceptual foundations to operational measurement and outcome reporting, alongside changes in global and regional agenda setting and a rising demand for comparable indicators; (2) clustering identified five soil health design domains separating biophysical and socio-economic principles and revealing stable micro-constellations beyond earlier pathway framing. These include soil management and input stewardship, soil-health assessment, agroecological and ecosystem-based, integrated landscape and livelihood, and policy- and outcome-based. These findings were translated into a sequenced, multi-domain programming architecture that operationalizes complementarity across diagnostics, stewardship implementation, ecosystem safeguards, landscape–livelihood embedding, and iterative learning, thereby closing the gaps between farm practices, governance mechanisms, and outcome monitoring for soil health.

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Crop Rotation Index for measuring agricultural land use intensity - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Crop rotations constitute a crucial way of managing farms. Scientific methods have studied rotations through different approaches. These either focus on the design of rotations, the performance of individual rotations (from a productivity, environmental performance, and/or soil recovery point of view), or the spatial pattern in the landscape. Despite these approaches, there is no method available to investigate the sustainability of a rotation at a large scale based on consistently followed agronomic principles in everyday farming practices. The novel Crop Rotation Index is proposed to fill this gap. To compute the Crop Rotation Index on a parcel basis, a sequence of crops over 6 years is evaluated by 8 indicators, where crops in the sequence are grouped together based on botanical families. These indicators represent, e.g., the frequency of crop categories in a rotation and the number of years between crops from the same category. The Crop Rotation Index was computed for the Netherlands using the parcel registry data. Results are presented at various spatial and temporal scales. Dutch arable regions in the south west and north east have an average value between 0.1 and 0.3, while grass-based systems in the center and north west have a value between 0.9 and 1.0. The results for the Province of Drenthe show that the western part is gradually becoming more intensive in arable crops, with values decreasing from 0.42 to 0.37 over a period of 5 years. A farm level case study on parcel sharing demonstrates that the Crop Rotation Index can capture complex land-sharing arrangements. The current version of the Crop Rotation Index can be extended with new indicators and crop categories and be applied in other regions. It is available as an indicator for performance monitoring in agriculture, supporting farmers in crop decisions, and as part rotation generation tools.

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On-farm systemic innovations to overcome dead-end situations and support glyphosate-free agriculture in France - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

The ban on glyphosate use in France has long been a controversial issue between agricultural stakeholders and public health authorities. Some politicians and scholars have characterized sloping vineyards and low-till crops as dead-end situations: i.e., highly dependent on glyphosate due to the lack of viable alternatives, both from technical and socioeconomic perspectives (mechanization costs, labor constraints). Most agronomic research has focused on developing technical alternatives to glyphosate. We propose shifting from the dominant R&D-centered approach to studying farm-led innovations to investigate ways to overcome these dead-end situations. Using the innovation-tracking approach, we analyzed 16 French case studies. Through semi-structured interviews, we collected data on farmers’ practices and their logic (i.e., the meaning farmers give to their practices within their situations). The results demonstrate six archetypes of glyphosate-free management logics for weeds and cover crops. Winegrower practices include adjusting the frequency and type of mechanical weeding, using equipment adapted to slope conditions (steep slopes, terraces). This equipment can be combined to manage both inter-row cover crops and under-vine weeds. Practices of low-till crop farmers involve integrating preventive and curative weed management strategies with various cover crop termination techniques (livestock grazing, mechanical methods), often linked to the level of farm diversification. We showed for the first time how winegrowers and low-till crop farmers combine the implementation of practices with innovative equipment use and participation in collective action to phase out glyphosate. These systemic innovations allowed farmers to overcome the increase of mechanization costs and workload through the sharing and development of equipment and work organization, ensuring timely weeding during vulnerable stages of the weed life cycle. Therefore, stopping glyphosate use requires a profound re-design of weed and cover crop management throughout the crop cycle. Finally, we argue that studying local innovations challenges how R&D stakeholders characterize dead-end situations regarding alternatives to pesticides.

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Process-based modelling in farm greenhouse gas assessment reveals site-specific dynamics and limitations of emission factor methods - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a well-recognized tool to assess the environmental impact of food production. To assess partial life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural systems with variable weather and management, this study integrated process-based agricultural systems modelling (APSIM) with emission-factor-based calculations to develop a system modelling framework. We assessed the greenhouse gas emission intensity of 11 fields from 2016 to 2021 at Boorowa Agricultural Research Station, representing an Australian cropping farm with comprehensive management records. Net greenhouse gas emissions varied widely across fields and seasons, ranging from −3.87 to 6.10 t CO2−e ha⁻1. Emissions were not only determined by seasonal climate but also prior-year management decisions, highlighting the need for a system-level perspective. Compared to the LCA-APSIM approach, averaged emission factors tend to overestimate direct N2O emission and fail to capture field-scale variability driven by climate and management. This highlights the limitations of the emission factor-based approach. Long-term scenario simulations for a continuous cropping system (canola-wheat-wheat) and a phased pasture-crop system (lucerne (×3)-canola-wheat-wheat, with lucerne ungrazed and 50% cut for hay) clearly demonstrated the trade-off between greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen input. From a long-term perspective, regardless of management practices or cropping systems, soil organic carbon in agricultural systems will eventually reach equilibrium, after which the system will transition from a carbon sink to a carbon source. To optimize environmental sustainability and food security, advanced farm management strategies must delay the attainment of equilibrium and maximize soil carbon storage potential while maintaining productivity. This study provides new insights into field-scale variability in greenhouse gas emissions, soil organic carbon equilibrium timing, and biases in static N₂O emission methods that have not been quantified in earlier LCA–APSIM applications.

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Progressing toward agroecology in vineyards through systemic innovation - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

Viticulture is facing major challenges, and agroecology is recognized as an innovative approach to enhance food system sustainability. However, knowledge is lacking about how winegrowers design innovations to support agroecology, which limits the ability of farmers and advisers to effectively steer and assess progress toward agroecology. This study aims to develop a tool to assess the agroecology level of vineyards, and to investigate the link between progress in the agroecological transition and the systemic and farm-scale reasoning of innovations. To this end, we interviewed 24 winegrowers, developed a table to characterize the agroecology level of the farms and identified the farmers’ agronomic rationales. Agroecology levels varied widely among the surveyed farms. The agroecology elements of synergy, efficiency, and a circular and solidarity-based economy explained most of the differences between farms at the extreme ends of the score ranges. We used semi-quantitative and qualitative indicators to highlight systemic reasoning in highly agroecological farms. The winegrowers from the most agroecological farms changed their practices more frequently, mainly by implementing practices that rely on system reorganization and redesign and by addressing a wider variety of results when changing their practices. The analysis of these farms revealed several success factors, including the adjustment of other practices after a change, careful observation of the agroecosystem, and a paradigm shift involving long-term reflection on practice effects. Moreover, successful farms are smaller, and have often reduced land areas to gain increased flexibility in production factors. They seek autonomy regarding inputs and promote synergies with respect to the farm’s different business activities. This work provides valuable support to winegrowers and advisers by offering them a simple tool to track the progress of vineyards when transitioning to a more agroecological system. This study also identifies key traits of agroecological farms that can inspire and be adopted on other farms.

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Designing where to crop and where to graze: a spatial approach toward sustainable farming - Agronomy for Sustainable Development

The world’s growing population raises concerns about future food security. At the same time, environmental challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and the depletion of natural resources must be addressed, calling for a transformation of agriculture. This need is exacerbated by the limited availability of land suitable for arable farming. In this study, we examined the potential of agricultural land for arable farming and grassland use in Switzerland, under the premise that agricultural land use should align with the biophysical and environmental capacity of each location. In an iterative co-design process with scientists and public authorities, we elaborated three scenarios for agricultural transformation, which progressively incorporated (i) biophysical constraints (soil, climate, and topography) and (ii) environmental constraints (soil loss and eutrophication due to risk of erosion), as well as (iii) greenhouse gas emissions from drained organic soils. Our results show that the allocation of 40% arable land and 60% grassland in the most restrictive scenario closely resembles the current distribution (46% and 54%), respectively. However, the scenarios also revealed significant spatial shifts between arable land and grassland at the local level: only two-thirds of today’s arable land areas match their natural site conditions. Evidence from this study underscores the critical importance of site-adapted transitions of agricultural land use and the need for site-adapted management alternatives for farmland presently assigned to inadequate land use. Overall, this research provides a novel contribution by allowing the identification of hotspot areas for agricultural transformation at the local scale. We show that these site-specific land use analyses are essential for guiding effective land use planning and policy advice that strengthen the integrity of environmental performance and agricultural productivity, and support the development of targeted and sustainable land use strategies.

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