Long-term diversified cropping promotes wheat yield and sustainability across contrasting climates: Evidence from China and Switzerland

Abstract

Context

Crop diversification is extensively advocated to buffer against climate variability and extreme events to increase crop yields and agroecosystem services.

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the long-term implications of diversified cropping on wheat yield and soil quality in contrasting climate regions.

Methods

A five-decade field experiment in a temperate sub-maritime climate (Nyon, Switzerland) and a two-decade field experiment in a temperate continental climate (Luancheng, China) were carried out to investigate the effects of diversified cropping on wheat yield, yield stability and sustainability, and soil quality.

Results

The long-term diversified cropping increased wheat yield by 16.2% in the sub-maritime climate and 15.0% in the continental climate. In the sub-maritime climate, diversified cropping increased mean wheat yield stability and sustainability by 5.8% and 17.3%, respectively. In the continental climate, diversified cropping increased wheat yield stability by 3.7% and sustainability by 12.3%. Dynamic stability analysis confirmed that wheat yield under diversified cropping was higher in high-yielding years across climates. However, soil organic carbon (C) and soil quality showed minimal variation with long-term cropping systems and tillage practices.

Conclusions

Diversified cropping serves as a promising strategy for enhancing wheat yield stability and sustainability while maintaining soil quality.

Implications

This research fills a critical gap in understanding how diversified cropping systems perform under real-world conditions over decades under climate change, offering land managers actionable data for balancing crop productivity with soil quality in sustainable agricultural practices.