Increasing Cropping System Diversity Balances Productivity, Profitability and Environmental Health
United States Department of Agriculture · Agricultural Research Service · +3 more institutions
Abstract
Balancing productivity, profitability, and environmental health is a key challenge for agricultural sustainability. Most crop production systems in the United States are characterized by low species and management diversity, high use of fossil energy and agrichemicals, and large negative impacts on the environment. We hypothesized that cropping system diversification would promote ecosystem services that would supplement, and eventually displace, synthetic external inputs used to maintain crop productivity. To test this, we conducted a field study from 2003-2011 in Iowa that included three contrasting systems varying in length of crop sequence and inputs. We compared a conventionally managed 2-yr rotation…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 44.91
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 50
Authors
5Topics & keywords
- Cropping system
- Crop rotation
- Cropping
- Agroecosystem
- Productivity
- Agriculture
- Agronomy
- Environmental science
- Zero hunger