HARNESSING ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES AND PHYSIOLOGIC MECHANISMS IN DIVERSIFYING AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS FOR SUSTAINABILITY: EXPERIENCE FROM STUDIES DEPLOYING NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS IN SCOTLAND

Highlights

● Diversification enhances nature-based contributions to cropping system functions.

● Soil management to improve production and ecosystem function has variable outcomes.

● Management of the production-system to use legacy nutrients will reduce inputs.

● Intercrops, companion crops and cover crops improve ecological sustainability.

● Sustainable interventions within value chains are essential to future-proof agriculture.

Abstract

To achieve the triple challenge of food security, reversing biodiversity declines plus mitigating and adapting to climate change, there is a drive to embed ecological principles into agricultural, value-chain practices and decision-making. By diversifying cropping systems at several scales there is potential to decrease reliance on inputs, provide resilience to abiotic and biotic stress, enhance plant, microbe and animal biodiversity, and mitigate against climate change. In this review we highlight the research performed in Scotland over the past 5 years into the impact of the use of ecological principles in agriculture on sustainability, resilience and provision of ecosystem functions. We demonstrate that diversification of the system can enhance ecosystem functions. Soil and plant management interventions, including nature-based solutions, can also enhance soil quality and utilization of legacy nutrients. Additionally, this is facilitated by greater reliance on soil biological processes and trophic interactions. We highlight the example of intercropping with legumes to deliver sustainability through ecological principles and use legumes as an exemplar of the innovation. We conclude that there are many effective interventions that can be made to deliver resilient, sustainable, and diverse agroecosystems for crop and food production, and these may be applicable in any agroecosystem.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

diversification / ecological principles / legumes / plant management / soil management / soil ecosystem services

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Acknowledgements

The research activities of all the authors and many of the examples highlighted in this review were supported by the 2016–2021 strategic research program funded by the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division. The authors thank Lawrie Brown and Ian Riley for useful comments and input to an advanced draft of the manuscript.

Compliance with ethics guidelines

Timothy S. George, Cathy Hawes, Tracy A. Valentine, Alison J. Karley, Pietro P. M. Iannetta, and Robin W. Brooker declare that they have no conflicts of interest or financial conflicts to disclose. This article does not contain any study with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

The Author(s) 2022. Published by Higher Education Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)