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Data extracted in Sept 2021
Note to the reader: This general fiche summarises all the environmental and climate impacts of CROP ROTATION found in a systematic review of 17 synthesis research papers1. These papers were selected from an initial number of 248 yielded by a systematic literature search strategy, according to the inclusion criteria reported in section 4.
As each synthesis research paper involves a number of primary research papers ranging from 3 to 122, the assessment of impacts relies on a large number of results obtained in field experiments (carried out in situations close to real farming environment).
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE FARMING PRACTICE
Description | Crop rotation on arable land is the practice of alternating crops grown on a specific field in a planned pattern or sequence in successive crop years, so that crops of the same species are not grown without interruption on the same field. In a rotation, the crops are normally changed annually, but they can also be multi-annual. If the same crop is grown continuously, the term monoculture can be used to describe the phenomenon2. |
Key descriptors |
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2. DESCRIPTION OF THE IMPACTS OF THE FARMING PRACTICE ON CLIMATE AND THE ENVIRONMENT
We reviewed the impacts of more diverse rotation (with two or more crops) compared to monocropping or simpler rotations.
The table below shows the number of synthesis papers reporting positive, negative and no effect, based on the statistical comparison of the intervention and the control. In addition, we include, if any, the number of systematic reviews reporting relevant results but without statistical test of the effects (“uncertain”). The numbers between parentheses indicate the number of synthesis papers with a quality score of at least 50%. Details on quality criteria can be found in the methodology section of this WIKI.
Out of the 17 synthesis papers selected, 8 reported studies conducted in Europe.
It should be noted that none of the 4 meta-analyses reporting impacts on crop yield included experiments conducted in Europe but rather in North America or China. Some of these analyses did not consider yields for all the crop species in the rotation, but only for one species (the main cash crop). 15 synthesis papers out of 17 had a quality score higher than or equal to 50%. Some synthesis papers reported more than one impact.
Impact | Positive | Negative | No effect | Uncertain |
Decrease GHG emissions | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 2 (2) | 0 |
Decrease pests and diseases | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 |
Increase soil biological quality | 5 (5) | 0 | 2 (2) | 0 |
Increase soil nutrients | 2 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Increase Carbon sequestration | 5 (3) | 1 (1) | 4 (2) | 0 |
Increase Crop yield | 3 (3) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 |
3. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW SEARCH STRATEGY
Keywords | TOPIC: (( crop* near/3 rotat* ) OR ( crop* near/3 sequen* ) OR ( cultiv* near/3 rotat* ) OR ( cultiv* near/3 sequen* ) OR ( multi* near/3 crop* ) OR ( multi* near/3 cultiv* ) OR ( crop* near/3 divers* ) OR ( cultiv* near/3 divers* )) AND TOPIC: (("meta-analy*" OR "systematic* review*" OR "evidence map" OR "global synthesis" OR "evidence synthesis" OR "research synthesis")) |
Search dates | No time restrictions |
Databases | Web of Science and Scopus, run in September 2021 |
Selection criteria | The main criteria that led to the exclusion of a synthesis paper were if the paper: (1) does not deal with crop rotation; (2) does not include results for cropland (e.g. pastures, forests); (3) deals with cover or break crops; (4) experimental treatment included other practices as well (e.g. tillage); (5) did not consider direct side-by-side comparisons; (6) is a non-systematic review or a non-quantitative systematic review. Synthesis papers that passed the relevance criteria were subject to critical appraisal carried out on a paper-by-paper basis. The search returned 243 synthesis papers potentially relevant for the practice object of our fiche. Searches for other farming practices added another 5 potentially relevant synthesis papers. From the 248 potentially relevant synthesis papers, 199 were excluded after reading the title and abstract, and 32 after reading the full text according to the above-mentioned criteria. Finally, 17 synthesis papers were selected for crop rotation. |
4. LIST OF SYNTHESIS PAPERS INCLUDED IN THE REVIEW
Number | Author | Year | Title | Reference | doi |
1 | Audette, Y; Congreves, KA; Schneider, K; Zaro, GC; Nunes, ALP; Zhang, HJ; Voroney, RP | 2021 | The effect of agroecosystem management on the distribution of C functional groups in soil organic matter: A review | BIOLOGY AND FERTILITY OF SOILS, 57, 881–894. | 10.1007/s00374-021-01580-2 |
2 | Puissant, J; Villenave, C; Chauvin, C; Plassard, C; Blanchart, E; Trap, J | 2021 | Quantification of the global impact of agricultural practices on soil nematodes: A meta-analysis | SOIL BIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY, 161, 108383 | 10.1016/j.soilbio.2021.108383 |
3 | Zhao, J; Yang, YD; Zhang, K; Jeong, J; Zeng, ZH; Zang, HD | 2020 | Does crop rotation yield more in China? A meta-analysis | FIELD CROPS RESEARCH, 245, 107659 | 10.1016/j.fcr.2019.107659 |
4 | Weisberger, D; Nichols, V; Liebman, M | 2019 | Does diversifying crop rotations suppress weeds? A meta-analysis | PLOS ONE, 14, e0219847 | 10.1371/journal.pone.0219847 |
5 | Assefa, Y; Prasad, PVV; Foster, C; Wright, Y; Young, S; Bradley, P; Stamm, M; Ciampitti, IA | 2018 | Major management factors determining spring and winter canola yield in North America | CROP SCIENCE, 58, 1-16. | 10.2135/cropsci2017.02.0079 |
6 | King, AE; Blesh, J | 2018 | Crop rotations for increased soil carbon: perenniality as a guiding principle | ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS, 28, 249-261. | 10.1002/eap.1648 |
7 | Mahal, NK; Castellano, MJ; Miguez, FE | 2018 | Conservation agriculture practices increase potentially mineralizable nitrogen: a meta-analysis | SOIL SCIENCE SOCIETY OF AMERICA JOURNAL, 82, 1270–1278 | 10.2136/sssaj2017.07.0245 |
8 | Han, Zhen; Walter, M. Todd; Drinkwater, Laurie E. | 2017 | N2O emissions from grain cropping systems: a meta-analysis of the impacts of fertilizer-based and ecologically-based nutrient management strategies | NUTRIENT CYCLING IN AGROECOSYSTEMS, 107, 335-355 | 10.1007/s10705-017-9836-z |
9 | Ma B.-L., Wu W. | 2016 | Crop productivity and environment impact in a maize-legume rotation system: A review | Crop rotations: farming practices, monitoring and environmental benefits. Nova Science Publisher Inc, New York, 1-33 | ISBN: 978-1-63484-496-3 |
10 | Sainju, UM | 2016 | A global meta-analysis on the impact of management practices on net global warming potential and greenhouse gas intensity from cropland soils | PLOS ONE, 11, e0148527 | 10.1371/journal.pone.0148527 |
11 | Venter, ZS; Jacobs, K; Hawkins, HJ | 2016 | The impact of crop rotation on soil microbial diversity: A meta-analysis | PEDOBIOLOGIA, 59, 215-223 | 10.1016/j.pedobi.2016.04.001 |
12 | Congreves, KA; Smith, JM; Nemeth, DD; Hooker, DC; Van Eerd, LL | 2014 | Soil organic carbon and land use: Processes and potential in Ontario's long-term agro-ecosystem research sites | CANADIAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE, 94, 317-336 | 10.4141/CJSS2013-094 |
13 | Decock C | 2014 | Mitigating nitrous oxide emissions from corn cropping systems in the midwestern us: potential and data gaps | ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, 48, 4247–4256 | 10.1021/es4055324 |
14 | McDaniel, MD; Tiemann, LK; Grandy, AS | 2014 | Does agricultural crop diversity enhance soil microbial biomass and organic matter dynamics? A meta-analysis | ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS, 24, 560–570 | 10.1890/13-0616.1 |
15 | Ugarte, CM; Kwon, H; Andrews, SS; Wander, MM | 2014 | A meta-analysis of soil organic matter response to soil management practices: An approach to evaluate conservation indicators | JOURNAL OF SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION, 69, 422-430 | 10.2489/jswc.69.5.422 |
16 | Lekberg, Y; Koide, RT | 2005 | Is plant performance limited by abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi? A meta-analysis of studies published between 1988 and 2003 | NEW PHYTOLOGIST, 168, 189-204. | 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2005.01490.x |
17 | West, TO; Post, WM | 2002 | Soil organic carbon sequestration rates by tillage and crop rotation: A global data analysis | SOIL SCIENCE SOCIETY OF AMERICA JOURNAL, 66, 1930-1946 | 10.2136/sssaj2002.1930 |