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Trenbath, B. R.

doi:10.1023/a:1006285319817

Cited by 48 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Nonetheless, more interdisciplinary, collaborative work will improve our ability to identify successful integrated weed, disease and arthropod pest management strategies ( Norris & Kogan 2005). Crop diversification through intercropping is mostly being researched in the tropics and subtropics and can be highly productive low input options for farmers in many countries (Thiaw et al 1993;Trenbath 1999;Dapaah et al 2003); although research is being done in developed countries (Baumann et al 2002a), there is little evidence of adoption by farmers (personal observation). In the past the same could be said of agroforestry, but interest in alley cropping and other types of agroforestry is increasing in the USA and Canada as an option for marginal land not only to sustain good crop productivity and provide organic matter inputs for organic production but also to increase carbon sequestration and improve the efficiency of nutrient cycling (Zinkhan & Mercer 1997;Jordan 2004;Thevathasan & Gordon 2004).…”

Section: Whole System Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biotic interactions, ecological knowledge and agriculture

Shennan

2007

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

175

126

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This paper discusses biotic interactions in agroecosystems and how they may be manipulated to support crop productivity and environmental health by provision of ecosystem services such as weed, pest and disease management, nutrient cycling and biodiversity conservation. Important elements for understanding biotic interactions include consideration of the effects of diversity, species composition and food web structure on ecosystem processes; the impacts of timing, frequency and intensity of disturbance; and the importance of multitrophic interactions. All of these elements need to be considered at multiple scales that depend in part on the range of the movement of the organisms involved. These issues are first discussed in general, followed by an examination of the application of these concepts in agricultural management. The potential for a greater use of ecological management approaches is high; however, owing to the nature of complex interactions in ecosystems, there is some inherent unpredictability about responses to management interventions under different conditions. Such uncertainty needs to be accommodated in the development of recommendations for farm management. This requires an increased emphasis on the effective synthesis of complex and often apparently contradictory information and on field-based adaptive research, monitoring and social learning by farmer/researcher collaborations.

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Section: Whole System Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biotic interactions, ecological knowledge and agriculture

Shennan

2007

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

175

126

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“…Agroforestry is defined as "an approach to land use" that incorporates trees into farming systems and allows woody perennials to be managed on the same unit of land as agricultural crops, livestock, or both [7][8][9]. Compared to conventional monoculture farming, agroforestry systems have obvious advantages in improving land use efficiency [10] and maintaining soil physicochemical properties, reducing losses of water, soil material, organic matter and nutrients, and ensuring stability of yields [11,12]. Moreover, an agroforestry system has relatively high diversity and stability of soil microbial communities, especially the diversity and abundance of beneficial microbial populations, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi that can enhance the productivity of crop plants by increasing the availability and supply of limiting nutrients [13][14][15][16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Physicochemical Properties and the Rhizosphere Soil Fungal Community in a Mulberry (Morus alba L.)/Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Intercropping System

Zhang

Wang

Zhang

et al. 2019

Forests

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A better understanding of soil fungal communities is very useful in revealing the effects of an agroforestry system and would also help us to understand the fungi-mediated effects of agricultural practices on the processes of soil nutrient cycling and crop productivity. Compared to conventional monoculture farming, agroforestry systems have obvious advantages in improving land use efficiency and maintaining soil physicochemical properties, reducing losses of water, soil material, organic matter, and nutrients, as well as ensuring the stability of yields. In this study, we attempted to investigate the impact of a mulberry/alfalfa intercropping system on the soil physicochemical properties and the rhizosphere fungal characteristics (such as the diversity and structure of the fungal community), and to analyze possible correlations among the planting pattern, the soil physicochemical factors, and the fungal community structure. In the intercropping and monoculture systems, we determined the soil physicochemical properties using chemical analysis and the fungal community structure with MiSeq sequencing of the fungal ITS1 region. The results showed that intercropping significantly improved the soil physicochemical properties of alfalfa (total nitrogen, alkaline hydrolysable nitrogen, available potassium, and total carbon contents). Sequencing results showed that the dominant taxonomic groups were Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Mucoromycota. Intercropping increased the fungal richness of mulberry and alfalfa rhizosphere soils and improved the fungal diversity of mulberry. The diversity and structure of the fungal community were predominantly influenced by both the planting pattern and soil environmental factors (total nitrogen, total phosphate, and total carbon). Variance partitioning analysis showed that the planting pattern explained 25.9% of the variation of the fungal community structure, and soil environmental factors explained 63.1% of the variation. Planting patterns and soil physicochemical properties conjointly resulted in changes of the soil fungal community structure in proportion.

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“…Variety of opinions about the functions of diversity in agricultural cropping systems is high while the data on which a solid judgment could be formulated remains sparse (Giller et al 1997 ;Swift and Anderson 1993 ;Vandermeer et al 1998 ) . However it seems to be an agree must that crop-species composition and diversity may among other things profoundly affect soil fertility (Russell 2002 ;Swift and Anderson 1993 ) , increase nutrient and water-use ef fi ciency and resistance to crop diseases (Mitchell et al 2002 ) , thereby providing stability to the cropping system (Swift and Anderson 1993 ;Trenbath 1999 ) . Farmers have generally regarded intercropping as a technique that reduces risks in crop production as if one member of an intercrop fails, the other survives and compensates in yield to some extent, allowing the farmer an acceptable harvest.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intercropping

Neamatollahi

Jahansuz

Mazaheri

et al. 2013

Sustainable Agriculture Reviews

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Intensive agricultural systems have negative impacts on soil and water quality, and on biodiversity conservation. The evolution of intercropping is controlled by a high degree of biodiversity. In sharp contrast intensive agricultural systems uses monocultures associated with high input of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Intercropping involves two or more crops in the same fi eld at the same time. Intercropping increases biodiversity, improving the ability of an agricultural system to handle changes in growing conditions. Intercropping plays a pivotal role for increasing land use ef fi ciency, weed suppression, enhanced ecological services and greater economic pro fi tability. Bene fi ts of intercropping include improved yields and yield stability, enhanced use of water and nutrients, increased weed suppression, increased pest and disease resistance, reduced soil erosion and improved forage quality.This review reports the relationships between plants in intercropping to understand and design intercropping systems, with special focus on intercropping ef fi ciency. The most common index showing yield advantage of intercropping is the land equivalent ratio (LER). The LER provides a standardized basis so that crops can be added to form 'combined' yields. The LER indicates competitive effects by comparison of individual LER. LER can measure relative yield advantage. We also present new ways to determine and use the LER.

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Untitled

Cited by 48 publications

References 29 publications

Biotic interactions, ecological knowledge and agriculture

Biotic interactions, ecological knowledge and agriculture

Soil Physicochemical Properties and the Rhizosphere Soil Fungal Community in a Mulberry (Morus alba L.)/Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Intercropping System

Intercropping

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