About this Research Topic
The spatial and temporal diversification of cropping systems is a way to reduce the dependency of agricultural systems on synthetic inputs and limit their environmental impacts by promoting the expression of ecosystem services. The options to diversify cropping systems are numerous going through the diversification of crop rotations, the association of species with intercropping (with annual or perennial crops) and the introduction of multiservice cover crops during fallow periods. Diversified agricultural systems can both contribute to increasing the stability and resilience of production in the face of climate change, while helping to mitigate its effects through increased carbon storage in soils and/or mitigation of greenhouse gases emission. They can also meet the needs of end-users who produce food, feed, and industrial products while providing other ecosystem services and public goods.
After 50 years of intensification of agricultural production systems, which has been accompanied by a major simplification of these systems, their negative effects on natural resources (soil, water, and air, loss of biodiversity, etc.) and their consequences on human health are now widely recognised. This indicates the strong need for a paradigm shift as an ecological intensification.
Crop diversification with a high level of agrobiodiversity in cropping systems is seen as an essential pillar of agro-ecological transition, based on growing evidence of improved productive and environmental performance and resilience of cropping and farming systems.
Thus, the main objectives of this Research Topic are (i) to take stock of recent knowledge concerning the multi-criteria, multidisciplinary and multi-scale (up to food systems) performance of cropping and production systems mobilising a high level of crop diversification, (ii) to highlight the current obstacles limiting crop diversification implementation in different contexts and (iii) to analyse its advantages and limits in the face of global changes (increasing populations, scarcity of natural resources, climate change, etc.).
We welcome manuscripts on the following subjects:
• Crop diversification and agrosystems resilience and performances
• Ecosystem services in highly diversified cropping systems
• Relationship between traits, functions and ecosystem services in diversified cropping systems
• Crop diversification benefits and limitations
• Design / co-design crop diversification strategies
• Legume and other neglected crops introduction in cropping systems
• Crop diversification and biodiversity
• Input dependency in diversified cropping systems
• Biological regulations in diversified cropping systems
• Design and optimization of species mixtures in cash crops and cover crops
• New approach of breeding, the relevance of phenotypic traits for crop diversification
• Crop diversification for climate change mitigation and adaptation
• Reasoning strategy for crop diversification in a territory
• Economic value and carry-over effects of crop diversification.
After 50 years of intensification of agricultural production systems, which has been accompanied by a major simplification of these systems, their negative effects on natural resources (soil, water, and air, loss of biodiversity, etc.) and their consequences on human health are now widely recognised. This indicates the strong need for a paradigm shift as an ecological intensification.
Crop diversification with a high level of agrobiodiversity in cropping systems is seen as an essential pillar of agro-ecological transition, based on growing evidence of improved productive and environmental performance and resilience of cropping and farming systems.
Thus, the main objectives of this Research Topic are (i) to take stock of recent knowledge concerning the multi-criteria, multidisciplinary and multi-scale (up to food systems) performance of cropping and production systems mobilising a high level of crop diversification, (ii) to highlight the current obstacles limiting crop diversification implementation in different contexts and (iii) to analyse its advantages and limits in the face of global changes (increasing populations, scarcity of natural resources, climate change, etc.).
We welcome manuscripts on the following subjects:
• Crop diversification and agrosystems resilience and performances
• Ecosystem services in highly diversified cropping systems
• Relationship between traits, functions and ecosystem services in diversified cropping systems
• Crop diversification benefits and limitations
• Design / co-design crop diversification strategies
• Legume and other neglected crops introduction in cropping systems
• Crop diversification and biodiversity
• Input dependency in diversified cropping systems
• Biological regulations in diversified cropping systems
• Design and optimization of species mixtures in cash crops and cover crops
• New approach of breeding, the relevance of phenotypic traits for crop diversification
• Crop diversification for climate change mitigation and adaptation
• Reasoning strategy for crop diversification in a territory
• Economic value and carry-over effects of crop diversification.
Keywords: agroecology, climate-smart agriculture, ecosystem services, multicriteria assessment, multi-services cover crop, system design
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
