Florence Dubs, Jerome Enjalbert, Sebastien Barot, Emmanuelle Porcher, Vincent Allard, Claude Pope, Arnaud Gauffreteau, Audrey Niboyet, Thomas Pommier, Sebastien Saint-Jean, Tiphaine Vidal, Xavier Le Roux
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引用次数: 1
Abstract
In face of the current environmental challenges, developing multifunctional cropping systems is increasingly needed, and crop variety mixtures are particularly interesting since they can deliver diverse services including grain production, yield stability, N2O production regulation, disease control, and reduction of N-fertilizer losses. However, the relationships between intraspecific diversity and ecosystem multifunctionality are poorly understood so far, and practitioners lack science-based guidance to design mixtures. We used a pool of 16 bread wheat varieties classified into 4 functional groups based on 26 below- and aboveground functional traits, to conduct a field trial (88 large plots cultivated with single varieties or mixtures of 2, 4, or 8 varieties), quantifying 15 provisioning and regulating services for each plot. To assess yield stability between local conditions and years, the trial was replicated at 4 other locations and for 2 years, using 2 managements each time. We analyzed how variety number and functional groups predicted the variance in services, and applied in an innovative manner the RLQ co-inertia analysis to relate the (variety × traits) matrix Q to a (plot × services) matrix R, using a (plot × variety) composition matrix L as a link. Our results show that using variety mixtures allowed delivery of baskets of services not reachable when cultivating single varieties, and that mixtures mitigated tradeoffs between different pairs of services. Variety number or functional groups poorly predicted the variance in services, but the RLQ approach allowed the identification of groups of plots delivering consistent baskets of services. Moreover, we demonstrated for the first-time significant relationships between specific baskets of services and bundles of variety traits. We discuss how our results increase our understanding of intraspecific diversity–agroecosystem multifunctionality relationships, and propose the next steps using our new approach to support practitioners for designing variety mixtures that provide particular baskets of services.
期刊介绍:
Agronomy for Sustainable Development (ASD) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of international scope, dedicated to publishing original research articles, review articles, and meta-analyses aimed at improving sustainability in agricultural and food systems. The journal serves as a bridge between agronomy, cropping, and farming system research and various other disciplines including ecology, genetics, economics, and social sciences.
ASD encourages studies in agroecology, participatory research, and interdisciplinary approaches, with a focus on systems thinking applied at different scales from field to global levels.
Research articles published in ASD should present significant scientific advancements compared to existing knowledge, within an international context. Review articles should critically evaluate emerging topics, and opinion papers may also be submitted as reviews. Meta-analysis articles should provide clear contributions to resolving widely debated scientific questions.