Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41741755›Full record

ArticleNature food2026

Functionally rich crop rotations increase calorie and macronutrient outputs across Europe.

Giulia Vico, Alessio Costa, Monique E Smith, Timothy Bowles, Amélie C M Gaudin, Christine A Watson, Guido Baldoni, Antonio Berti, Andrzej Blecharczyk, Krzysztof Jonczyk and 14 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature food, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

24 authors.

Giulia VicoDepartment of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden. giulia.vico@slu.se.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7849-2653
Alessio CostaDepartment of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
Monique E SmithDepartment of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5913-3770
Timothy BowlesDepartment of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4840-3787
Amélie C M GaudinDepartment of Plant Sciences, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
Christine A WatsonDepartment of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3758-9483
Guido BaldoniDepartment of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Antonio BertiDepartment of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6377-2820
Andrzej BlecharczykDepartment of Agronomy, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poznań, Poland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8688-3136
Krzysztof JonczykDepartment of Agroecology and Economics, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation-State Research Institute, Puławy, Poland.
Martina MazzonDepartment of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5136-0135
Claudio MarzadoriDepartment of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7042-320X
Francesco MorariDepartment of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9081-868X
Lorenzo NegriDepartment of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8729-2442
Andrea OnofriDepartment of Agricultural Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6603-329X
José Luis Tenorio PasamónEnvironment and Agronomy Department, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain.
Boël SandströmDepartment of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden.
Inés Santín-MontanyáEnvironment and Agronomy Department, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1978-6560
Zuzanna SawinskaDepartment of Agronomy, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poznań, Poland.
Jarosław StalengaDepartment of Agroecology and Economics, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation-State Research Institute, Puławy, Poland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3486-0995
Francesco TeiDepartment of Agricultural Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
Cairistiona F E ToppScotland's Rural College, Edinburgh, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7064-638X
Robin L WalkerScotland's Rural College, Aberdeen, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8008-4413
Riccardo BommarcoDepartment of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8888-0476

Funding

Scottish Government RESAS Strategic Research ProgrammeSvenska Forskningsrådet Formas (Swedish Research Council Formas) 2018-02872Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas (Swedish Research Council Formas) 2022-00928
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Increased crop diversity in cereal-dominated rotations can enhance crop protection, nutrient use efficiency and climate change adaptation. Nevertheless, it is argued that replacing cereals in rotations diminishes food production, threatening food security. Here we compared outputs of calories and macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats) for human consumption from cereal monocultures, cereal-only rotations and rotations including two or three functionally distinct crop types (cereals plus root and oil crops, legumes or ley) in 16 long-term experiments across Europe. Rotations with three functional types produced more calories and macronutrients than cereal monocultures and cereal-only rotations with forage crops used to produce milk. Carbohydrate gains depended on growing conditions and crop choice. Advantages increased over time but were lost with forage crops used for beef or biofuel. Functionally rich rotations provided macronutrient proportions closer to recommended human diets. Our analysis shows no trade-off between functionally rich rotations and food production or agricultural land expansion.

Identifiers

PMID41741755
PMCPMC12935540

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Registered trials

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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.