Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41559457›Full record

ArticleNature ecology & evolution2026

Global evidence that plant diversity suppresses pests and promotes plant performance and crop production.

Nian-Feng Wan, Yu-Quan Wang, Liwan Fu, Jie Liu, Ben A Woodcock, Yue-Qing Hu, Anu Eskelinen, Andy Hector, Michel Loreau, Yann Hautier and 12 more

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature ecology & evolution, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Synchronizing OChemical science · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

22 authors.

Nian-Feng Wan *Shanghai Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China. nfwan@ecust.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9486-9150
Yu-Quan Wang *State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Biostatistics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6656-7443
Liwan Fu *Center for Non-communicable Disease Management, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7851-6379
Jie Liu *Shanghai Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China.
Ben A WoodcockUK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0300-9951
Yue-Qing HuState Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Biostatistics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5730-0317
Anu EskelinenDepartment of Ecology and Genetics, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1707-5263
Andy HectorDepartment of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1309-7716
Michel LoreauTheoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, CNRS, Moulis, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0122-495X
Yann HautierEcology and Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4347-7741
Richard D BardgettLancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5131-0127
Paul KardolDepartment of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7065-3435
Debra Zuppinger-DingleyDepartment of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4573-0563
Lauchlan H FraserDepartment of Natural Resource Science, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3998-5540
James M BullockUK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0529-4020
Shinichi NakagawaDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Siyuan ShenState Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Biostatistics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Fengfei XinWetland Research Department, Shanghai Wildlife and Protected Natural Areas Research Center, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6718-8250
Da-Peng ShiShanghai Center for Mathematical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Zhong LiShanghai Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China.
Jia ZhouShanghai Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China.
Christoph ScherberCentre for Biodiversity Monitoring and Conservation Science, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Museum Koenig, Bonn, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7924-8911

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 32172484National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 82204063
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The diversity-productivity relationship suggests that increasing plant species could increase primary productivity, with this effect being explained in part by the suppression of plant antagonists. We conducted a global synthesis of 609 studies to investigate how plant diversity affects plants and their antagonists. Here we show that increasing plant species consistently promotes plant performance and suppresses antagonist performance in agro-ecosystems, grasslands and forests, for herbaceous and woody plants, across tropical and temperate zones, and for replacement series and additive experimental design studies. Crop diversification (for example, intercropping and cover cropping) indirectly promotes crop production through the suppression of pests. This shows that diversifying planting systems can increase productivity while reducing reliance on synthetic pesticides, offering a sustainable pathway for agriculture from subsistence to large-scale agriculture. Overall, these results suggest that crop diversification has considerable potential to support sustainable agro-ecosystems that benefit productivity while reducing reliance on synthetic pesticides.

Indexed as

AgricultureBiodiversityCrop ProductionCrops, AgriculturalAnimals

Identifiers

PMID41559457

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.