Supporting Agricultural Ecosystem Services through the Integration of Perennial Polycultures into Crop Rotations

Abstract

This review analyzes the potential role and long-term effects of field perennial polycultures (mixtures) in agricultural systems, with the aim of reducing the trade-offs between provisioning and regulating ecosystem services. First, crop rotations are identified as a suitable tool for the assessment of the long-term effects of perennial polycultures on ecosystem services, which are not visible at the single-crop level. Second, the ability of perennial polycultures to support ecosystem services when used in crop rotations is quantified through eight agricultural ecosystem services. Legume-grass mixtures and wildflower mixtures are used as examples of perennial polycultures, and compared with silage maize as a typical crop for biomass production. Perennial polycultures enhance soil fertility, soil protection, climate regulation, pollination, pest and weed control, and landscape aesthetics compared with maize. They also score lower for biomass production compared with maize, which confirms the trade-off between provisioning and regulating ecosystem services. However, the additional positive factors provided by perennial polycultures, such as reduced costs for mineral fertilizer, pesticides, and soil tillage, and a significant preceding crop effect that increases the yields of subsequent crops, should be taken into account. However, a full assessment of agricultural ecosystem services requires a more holistic analysis that is beyond the capabilities of current frameworks.

Methane yield and species diversity dynamics of perennial wild plant mixtures established alone, under cover crop maize (Zea mays L.), and after spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)

“…In our study, however, WPMs are considered a promising option for biomass production on marginal agricultural land because they contain a mixture of on average five species (von Cossel & Lewandowski, ) and show features of a perennial system (Emmerling et al, ), for example, less soil disturbance and a well‐established rooting system. This promotes soil carbon accumulation, the development of soil biodiversity, and reduces the risk of erosion (Emmerling et al, ; Weißhuhn, Reckling, Stachow, & Wiggering, ). The costs of biomass production are also lower in perennial than in annual cropping systems (Lewandowski, ; Lewandowski et al, ).…”

Exploring the Connections between Agroecological Practices and Ecosystem Services: A Systematic Literature Review

“…This suggests that they may be good practices to start with to perform an agroecological transition [50]. Additionally, as several authors previously assessed [60][61][62][63][64][65][66], most of the reviewed studies showed that both practices were highly positive in terms of carbon sequestration, climate regulation, erosion protection, pest control and pollination services, which could be an additional incentive for farmers to introduce these practices in their fields.…”

Strategies, Advances, and Challenges in Breeding Perennial Grain Crops

“…Numerous papers have been published over the last decade describing predicted improvements in soil carbon balance, nutrient retention, soil water uptake efficiency, soil microbiome functions, and weed suppression, as annual crops that require soil disturbance and/or frequent exposure to maintain are replaced by perennial crops that require minimal soil disturbance or periods of exposure [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Other papers have addressed questions of why humans originally domesticated annual grain crops and what strategies make sense for domesticating new perennial grain crop species [8][9][10][11].…”