A whole‐systems approach for assessing measures to improve arable ecosystem sustainability

Hawes, Cathy; Begg, Graham S.; Iannetta, Pietro P. M.; Karley, Alison J.; Squire, G. R.

doi:10.1002/ehs2.1252

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 41 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Key indicators of the arable cropping system were measured each growing season as described in References [15,16]. Here we focus on the plant responses: within field weed seedbank, emerged weed flora and crop yields.…”

Section: Sampling Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant Responses to an Integrated Cropping System Designed to Maintain Yield Whilst Enhancing Soil Properties and Biodiversity

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The intensification of arable production since the 1950s has resulted in increases in yield but only at significant cost to the environment, raising serious concerns about long-term consequences for the sustainability of food production systems. While a range of policies and practices have been put in place to mitigate negative effects in terms of pollution, soil degradation and loss of biodiversity, their efficacy has not been properly quantified. Whole-system effects of management change are rarely studied and so trade-offs and conflicts between different components of the agricultural system are poorly understood. A long-term field platform was therefore established in which conventional arable management was compared with a low-input, integrated cropping system designed with the goal to maintain yields whilst enhancing biodiversity and minimizing environmental impact. Over the first rotation, only winter wheat yielded less under integrated management; yield was maintained for the remaining five crops (spring and winter barley, winter oilseed rape, potato and field beans), suggesting a negligible impact on economic returns. Beneficial broad-leaved weeds were significantly more abundant in the integrated management system across all crops whereas grass weeds showed no overall response to treatment. Soil carbon, pH and soil concentrations of the main plant growth-limiting macronutrients were enhanced under the integrated management system. The integrated system was therefore successful in meeting the goals to enhance biodiversity and reduce environmental impact without jeopardizing crop yields.

show abstract

Section: Sampling Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant Responses to an Integrated Cropping System Designed to Maintain Yield Whilst Enhancing Soil Properties and Biodiversity

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The CSC long-term platform and indicators are described in detail in [20][21][22]. Briefly, the platform, which was established in 2009, is based on a framework for designing and testing new cropping systems, in a similar way to the Sustainability Assessment of Farming and the Environment (SAFE) framework [23,24]: First, the overall objectives or end goals of the management system are defined; second, criteria and methods for achieving these goals are determined and third, a suite of indicators representing the key components of the system for monitoring the impact are identified.…”

Section: Experimental Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…MADM assessments of multiple cropping systems at this scale can then be put together to form an overall assessment of a farming system [6]. Here, elements of existing DEXi models [13,15] are extensively developed (DEXi-CSC) specifically to assess the sustainability goals set out at a long-term experimental platform, the Centre for Sustainable Cropping (CSC), Balruddery Farm, Scotland [20][21][22]. The CSC is based on a whole crop systems framework for designing, implementing and testing an integrated arable management, which aims to maintain crop yield and quality whilst enhancing biodiversity for system function, reducing environmental pollution due to losses from the system, and improving soil health.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Whole-Systems Analysis of Environmental and Economic Sustainability in Arable Cropping Systems: A Case Study

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The long-term sustainability of crop production depends on the complex network of interactions and trade-offs between biotic, abiotic and economic components of agroecosystems. An integrated arable management system was designed to maintain yields, whilst enhancing biodiversity and minimising environmental impact. Management interventions included conservation tillage and organic matter incorporation for soil biophysical health, reduced crop protection inputs and integrated pest management strategies for enhanced biodiversity and ecosystem functions, and intercropping, cover cropping and under-sowing to achieve more sustainable nutrient management. This system was compared directly with standard commercial practice in a split-field experimental design over a six-year crop rotation. The effect of the cropping treatment was assessed according to the responses of a suite of indicators, which were used to parameterise a qualitative multi-attribute model. Scenarios were run to test whether the integrated cropping system achieved greater levels of overall sustainability relative to standard commercial practice. Overall sustainability was rated high for both integrated and conventional management of bean, barley and wheat crops. Winter oilseed crops scored medium for both cropping systems and potatoes scored very low under standard management but achieved a medium level of sustainability with integrated management. In general, high scores for environmental sustainability in integrated cropping systems were offset by low scores for economic sustainability relative to standard commercial practice. This case study demonstrates the value of a 'whole cropping systems' approach using qualitative multi-attribute modelling for the assessment of existing cropping systems and for predicting the likely impact of new management interventions on arable sustainability.

show abstract

“…Although a growing body of work that shows how crop rotation, agronomic practices and seed predation by carabid beetles contribute to regulating of weeds in arable fields, their effects must be considered as part of a comprehensive system (Hawes et al, 2016) where weed dynamics are influenced by both agronomic and ecological factors. Such approaches are also necessary to identify tradeoffs between the costs of arable weeds, and their benefits, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined effect of crop rotation and carabid beetles on weed dynamics in arable fields

Schmucki

Bohan

Pocock

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Weed management is a resource-intensive practice in arable agriculture, with direct and long-term impacts on both productivity and biodiversity (e.g. plant, pollinators and farmland wildlife). In conventional systems, weed control relies on crop management and herbicide inputs, but for more sustainable production systems, use of herbicides needs to be reduced. This requires a good understanding of the processes that regulate arable weed dynamics in arable fields.We adopted a systems framework to understand and model interacting components that drive the weed dynamics in 168 arable fields. Within this framework, we built a structural equation model (SEM) to quantify the direct and indirect effects of crop rotation (i.e. crops in the previous three years and the current year) and carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) on weed density, seed abundance and accumulation in the seedbank. We included results from a mechanistic approach to infer interactions between seed-feeding carabid beetles and seeds to estimate predation pressure in each field.Our results show that weeds in arable fields are regulated by crop type, sowing season, and activity density of carabid beetles. We found a direct effect of crop rotation, including both past and current field management practice, on weed abundance in the field and its seedbank. There was also an indirect effect of crops on weed seed accumulation in the seedbank via the effect of seed-eating carabid beetles. The efficiency of weed control by carabid beetles depended on the cumulative predation pressure, which indicates the importance of functional diversity as well as abundance.Farmers and agronomists can capitalise on the ecosystem services provided by carabid beetles by adapting agronomic practices and crop rotation to maintain a rich fauna of seed-eating carabids in fields and potentially across the agricultural landscapes. When integrated with rotational management practices, this ecosystem services can improve the efficiency of weed management and contribute to the sustainability of cropping systems.

show abstract

A whole‐systems approach for assessing measures to improve arable ecosystem sustainability

Cited by 9 publications

References 41 publications

Plant Responses to an Integrated Cropping System Designed to Maintain Yield Whilst Enhancing Soil Properties and Biodiversity

Plant Responses to an Integrated Cropping System Designed to Maintain Yield Whilst Enhancing Soil Properties and Biodiversity

Whole-Systems Analysis of Environmental and Economic Sustainability in Arable Cropping Systems: A Case Study

Combined effect of crop rotation and carabid beetles on weed dynamics in arable fields

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About