ArticleNature food2021
Crop cover is more important than rotational diversity for soil multifunctionality and cereal yields in European cropping systems.
Article in Nature food, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Crop rotation differentially increases soil bacterial and fungal diversities in global croplands: a meta-analysis.Nature communications · 2025Pooled it
- Global systematic review with meta-analysis reveals yield advantage of legume-based rotations and its drivers.Nature communications · 2022Pooled it
- Spatial trade-offs between environmental sustainability and crop production in China under SDG-aligned scenarios.iScience · 2026Article
- National Evidence of Depth-Dependent Stabilization and Controls of Soil Organic Carbon in Dryland Croplands.Global change biology · 2026Article
- Continental-Scale Evidence of Farm Management Impacts on Soil Carbon.Global change biology · 2026Article
- Synthetic microbial communities rescues strawberry from soil-borne disease by enhancing soil functional microbial abundance and multifunctionality.Journal of advanced research · 2026Article
- Soil and Genotype Shape the Sugarcane Phytobiome for Enhanced Environmental Adaptation.Environmental microbiology reports · 2026Article
- Co-application of leguminous and non-leguminous green manures enhances subsequent wheat yield stability in saline-alkali soils.Frontiers in plant science · 2026Article
- Compost application more strongly shapes soil fungal than bacterial communities across arable fields.ISME communications · 2026Article
- Global variation in plant-beneficial bacteria in soil under pesticide stress.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Microorganisms in Macroalgae Cultivation Ecosystems: A Systematic Review and Future Prospects Based on Bibliometric Analysis.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Influence of Cover Crop Root Functional Traits on Sweet Potato Yield and Soil Microbial Communities.Microorganisms · 2025Article
- Do soil health indicators predict carbon and nitrogen functional stability under drought and heat?PloS one · 2025Article
- Microbial communities and their association with soil health indicators under row cash crop and cover crop diversification: a case study.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Mitigating gaseous nitrogen emissions in cotton fields through green manure and reduced nitrogen fertilization.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Soil microbial networks' complexity as a primary driver of multifunctionality in photovoltaic power plants in the northwest region of China.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Large nitrous oxide emissions from arable soils after crop harvests prior to sowing.Nutrient cycling in agroecosystems · 2025Article
- Enhancing nitrogen use efficiency in agriculture by integrating agronomic practices and genetic advances.Frontiers in plant science · 2025Review
- Multitrophic Diversity of the Biotic Community Drives Ecosystem Multifunctionality in Alpine Grasslands.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Cover crop root exudates impact soil microbiome functional trajectories in agricultural soils.Microbiome · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors.
Funding
Abstract
In natural ecosystems, positive effects of plant diversity on ecosystem functioning have been widely observed, yet whether this is true in cropping systems remains unclear. Here we assessed the impact of crop diversification on soil microbial diversity, soil multifunctionality (SMF) and crop yields in 155 cereal fields across a 3,000 km north-south European gradient. Overall, crop diversity showed a relatively minor effect on soil microbial diversity, SMF and yields. In contrast, the proportion of time with crop cover (including cash crops, cover crops or forage leys) during the past ten-year crop rotation had a much stronger impact. This suggests that increasing crop cover can enhance both yields and soil functioning, while also providing habitat for soil microorganisms. We found that SMF did not positively contribute to crop yields, highlighting that care must be taken to balance the provision of food with environmentally beneficial functions and services, since they do not always go hand in hand.
Identifiers
37117662What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.