Agricultural diversification promotes multiple ecosystem services without compromising yield.
- Tamburini G Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden. giovanni.tamburini@uniba.it.
- Bommarco R Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
- Wanger TC Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
- Kremen C Department of Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, USA.
- van der Heijden MGA Plant-Soil-Interactions, Research Division Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, Switzerland.
- Liebman M Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Iowa, USA.
- Hallin S Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
- 2020-11-05
Published in:
- Science advances. - 2020
English
Enhancing biodiversity in cropping systems is suggested to promote ecosystem services, thereby reducing dependency on agronomic inputs while maintaining high crop yields. We assess the impact of several diversification practices in cropping systems on above- and belowground biodiversity and ecosystem services by reviewing 98 meta-analyses and performing a second-order meta-analysis based on 5160 original studies comprising 41,946 comparisons between diversified and simplified practices. Overall, diversification enhances biodiversity, pollination, pest control, nutrient cycling, soil fertility, and water regulation without compromising crop yields. Practices targeting aboveground biodiversity boosted pest control and water regulation, while those targeting belowground biodiversity enhanced nutrient cycling, soil fertility, and water regulation. Most often, diversification practices resulted in win-win support of services and crop yields. Variability in responses and occurrence of trade-offs highlight the context dependency of outcomes. Widespread adoption of diversification practices shows promise to contribute to biodiversity conservation and food security from local to global scales.
- Language
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- English
- Open access status
- gold
- Identifiers
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- DOI 10.1126/sciadv.aba1715
- PMID 33148637
- Persistent URL
- https://folia.unifr.ch/global/documents/244955
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