A global dataset of experimental intercropping and agroforestry studies in horticulture

Abstract

Intercropping and agroforestry systems have been increasingly well studied and documented. Yet, so far, no dataset has provided a systematic synthesis of existing data on intercropping experiments in the specific field of horticulture. A systematic literature search was carried using search terms and applied to Web of Science. The resulting dataset includes data from field experiments published in 191 articles covering experiments worldwide, between 1982 and 2022. The selected experiments cover five continents and involved 118 different crop species. Through manual extraction of information from publications, the dataset includes (i) general information on the articles; (ii) experimental site soil and climate conditions; (iii) descriptions of intercropping designs; (iv) crop management practices; (v) measurements of sole crop and intercrop yields and (v) Land Equivalent Ratios. The dataset is arranged in an easily reusable spreadsheet with columns as variables (n = 45) and rows as treatment (n = 1544). The dataset is freely reusable and updateable. We expect that it will provide valuable information for statistical analysis, modeling and innovative farming system design based on intercropping.