Abstract
Cropping system diversification is a key factor in developing more sustainable cropping and food systems. The agroecological practice of intercropping, meaning the simultaneous cultivation of two or more species in the same field, has recently gained renewed interest as a means of ecological intensification in European agricultural research. We discuss some recent research developments regarding 1) intercropping for ecological intensification in agroecological and conventional cropping systems, 2) studies on nitrogen resource use by cereal-grain legume intercropping cultivation, 3) the role of intercropping in the management of biotic stressors, especially weeds, and 4) intercropping as a means of creating cropping systems that are more resilient to the abiotic and biotic stress associated with climate change. Finally, we propose methods for the greater adoption of intercropping in European agriculture by unlocking farming systems from upstream and downstream barriers, with the aim of developing more sustainable agricultural and food systems.
Highlights
The agroecological transition to more sustainable agricultural and food systems is based on principles, some of which are related to the ecology of agricultural systems and some of which are related to the socioeconomics of food systems
VOLUME 47 No3 SEPTEMBER – DECEMBER 2020. This development was facilitated by the use of abundant and inexpensive fossil energy, heavy mechanization and synthetic chemicals and fertilizers, which are required to compensate for the loss of soil fertility and resistance to biotic stresses, two regulating ecosystem services traditionally derived from planned diverse cropping systems within diverse landscapes (Matson et al, 1997; Vandermeer et al, 1998; IAASTD, 2009; Foley et al, 2011)
Intercropping of field pea and spring barley in a Danish conventional cropping system showed that it is possible to obtain similar grain yields in an intercropping system without N fertilizer as in a sole barley crop receiving 80 kg N ha-1 (Figure 1). These results show that the intercropping advantage, as determined by the land equivalent ratio (LER) value, is reduced with increasing levels of N fertilization and increases with the proportion of pea in the intercropping system (Figure 1)
Summary
The agroecological transition to more sustainable agricultural and food systems is based on principles, some of which are related to the ecology of agricultural systems and some of which are related to the socioeconomics of food systems (Nicholls et al, 2014; Dumont et al., 2016). Intercropping may sometimes increase yields by more than 25% compared to growing sole crops and deliver several additional services, such as improved nutrient use efficiency and grain quality in food systems (Jensen et al, 2015; Bedoussac et al, 2015).
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