Agricultural Systems最新文献

{"title":"Collective action and seed production in Uttar Pradesh, India: A pathway for women's empowerment and community seed security","authors":"Krista Isaacs ,&nbsp;Arena Shelley (Formerly Lewis) ,&nbsp;Walter Simon de Boef","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104595","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104595","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>Seed production and distribution of quality varieties require innovative approaches in order to reach smallholder farmers that are outside of formal distribution networks. Many development interventions aim to empower women and ensure food security. Interventions to achieve both women's empowerment and seed security through community-based seed production may contribute to both goals. Building on many years working to empower women through self-help groups (SHGs), Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana (RGMVP) sought to increase seed security by incorporating a rice and wheat seed production program, in which 800+ women became seed producers.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>This study assessed how a layered self-help group/seed production program contributed to women's empowerment and seed security. Specific objectives were to assess: i) how becoming seed producers changed women's resources, agency, and achievement; and ii) women's perspectives on how seed security changed within the community.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 SHG seed producer members and 18 non-seed producer members from Uttar Pradesh, India. Grounded theory and an extensive literature review of empowerment were used to analyze the data for emergent themes. Descriptive summaries were written for each theme to understand trends and note cross-sectional themes.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS</h3><div>The seed production program within the SHGs empowered seed-producing women. Their resources, agency, and achievement were positively impacted through collective action. Meaningful choice was introduced through participatory variety selection of rice and wheat varieties, and the actualization of that choice was demonstrated through increased decision-making and seed production. Women reported being more respected for their provision of quality seed, which became available at the community level and beyond for barter or purchase, providing evidence of increased seed security across SHG networks. The integrated seed sector program implemented by RGMVP - where improved foundation seed was multiplied by women seed producers at the local level – served as a mechanism for strengthening the availability and affordability of improved rice and wheat cultivars.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>RGMVP worked with 2 million women members across 40 districts and the seed production program was piloted in just 2 districts. 47,000 farmers gaining access to rice and wheat seed through the program. There are 9 million SHGs in India. With gender responsive community engagement, there is potential for adapting the program to new contexts and generating positive change in women's lives and their households, while enhancing the capacity of the seed sector to support community seed security.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"233 ","pages":"Article 104595"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145787362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Operationalising agroecological diagnosis of vegetable farms to support co-innovation: The MEDITAE framework","authors":"M. Scarlato ,&nbsp;M. Rieppi ,&nbsp;I. Ferreira ,&nbsp;S. Irurueta ,&nbsp;D. Fernández ,&nbsp;F.J.J.A. Bianchi ,&nbsp;W.A.H. Rossing ,&nbsp;S. Dogliotti","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104617","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104617","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>The transition of farm systems towards agroecology requires an understanding of the ecological processes that support agroecosystem functioning. While co-innovation approaches have successfully supported learning for on-farm sustainability transitions, the diagnostic methods do not capture the ecological processes that underpin the functioning of agroecosystems.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>We present the MEDITAE framework, co-developed with practitioners to support the characterisation, diagnosis, and agroecological redesign of farm systems based on systemic learning.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>MEDITAE connects socio-ecological processes (nutrient, carbon and water cycling; plant succession and biotic regulation; energy flows; and socio-economic and cultural processes) with management and farm performance. Performance indicators are used to assess agroecosystem functioning, and practice-based indicators assess management practices that may explain performance. We applied MEDITAE to three organic and two conventional case study vegetable farms involved in a co-innovation project in Uruguay.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS</h3><div>All farms had a weak performance on nutrient cycling and energy flow processes, providing entry points for farm redesign. Carbon and water cycling achieved good overall performance on two organic farms. The three organic farms demonstrated good overall performance in terms of plant succession and biotic regulation, as well as in socio-economic processes, whereas the conventional farms showed weaker performances. MEDITAE contributed to collective reflections on how socio-ecological processes influenced system performance and how farmers' practices shaped these processes, thereby supporting an agroecological perspective, promoting learning, and empowering farmers to change practices.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>MEDITAE provides a generic framework for the diagnosis phase that connects a systemic farm characterisation to agroecological redesign. Its mechanistic approach facilitates the assessment of policy support for agroecology, strengthens agronomist training, and provides a foundation for inter- and transdisciplinary research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"233 ","pages":"Article 104617"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145732424","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Co-design of crop monitoring-modeling systems via identifiability analysis","authors":"Pratishtha Poudel ,&nbsp;Stephen M. Welch ,&nbsp;Phillip D. Alderman ,&nbsp;Xiaomao Lin","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104613","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104613","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Context:&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Crop yield increases are lagging those required to avoid major mid-century food security disruptions. Skilled models are needed to predict environment-specific cropping outcomes for applications ranging from accelerating breeding program gain rates via efficient selection to sustainable, in-field production decision-making that incorporate genetic &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;mo&gt;×&lt;/mo&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt; environment &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;mo&gt;×&lt;/mo&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt; management interactions. In an attractive vision, genotype-specific ecophysiological crop model parameters are inferred by genomic prediction. However, these parameters are often unidentifiable from typically observed data, also known as the equifinality problem. This is because wide parameter value ranges generate identical predictions so alternative estimates are indistinguishable and, thus, unusable in genomic prediction training.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Objective:&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Given a model with parameters, a prescribed data scheme and goodness-of-fit objective function this paper introduces a method to measure identifiability and semi-automate its improvement.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Methods:&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Identifiability is innovatively quantified as the objective function’s Gaussian curvature at the parameter optimum. Higher values indicate a more easily searchable, bowl-like objective function response surface. Lower values imply a flatness that prevents unique parameter value identification.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;A simplified, seven-parameter wheat model is analyzed, revealing two nearly unidentifiable parameters. Three analyses are presented: (1) increasing observation numbers, (2) adding a new observation type, and (3) automatically determining two parameters whose direct field measurement would maximally increase Gaussian curvature.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Results and conclusions:&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Two nearly unidentifiable parameters – Thermal time to end of leaf expansion (TTL) and thermal time to maturity (TTM) – were revealed. Analyses (2) and (3) drastically improved identifiability. After adding the new observation type (physiological maturity), Gaussian curvature increased by a factor of 7600. Likewise, when we fixed the values of the two parameters, the Gaussian curvature increased by a factor of &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mn&gt;2&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;mo&gt;.&lt;/mo&gt;&lt;mn&gt;69&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;mo&gt;×&lt;/mo&gt;&lt;mn&gt;1&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;msup&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mn&gt;0&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mn&gt;11&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;/msup&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt;. Surprisingly, however, increasing observation numbers lowered identifiability for reasons related to the Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency objective function variant used. Relatedly, because the method is formally objective function agnostic, it can also ameliorate any non-uniqueness in model-based production decision aids that optimize economic objectives while integrating a full suite of in-field interactions.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Significance:&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;The demonstrated ability to maximize identifiability by optimizing both the data taken and model structure prior to actual field","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"233 ","pages":"Article 104613"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145734261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rehabilitating fragile ecosystems through agroforestry in red and lateritic soils: A multi-criteria systems perspective","authors":"Benukar Biswas ,&nbsp;Debashis Chakraborty ,&nbsp;Jagadish Timsina ,&nbsp;Anandkumar Naorem ,&nbsp;Mousumi Mondal ,&nbsp;Sahely Kanthal ,&nbsp;Saju Adhikary ,&nbsp;Udayan Rudra Bhowmick ,&nbsp;Pushpendu Sardar ,&nbsp;Mallika Koley ,&nbsp;Sk Moinuddin ,&nbsp;Ashutosh Kumar ,&nbsp;Kiranmay Patra ,&nbsp;Trisha Manna ,&nbsp;Arindam Sarkar ,&nbsp;Kalyan Jana ,&nbsp;Sanjib Kumar Das ,&nbsp;Bikash Ranjan Ray","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104597","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104597","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>Land degradation in red and lateritic soils of India, particularly in the northeast, poses a serious threat to agroecological stability, agricultural productivity, soil health, and rural livelihoods. Agroforestry is increasingly recognized as a sustainable approach for restoring degraded ecosystems, rejuvenating soil health, and improving farmers' livelihoods, yet region-specific empirical evidence remains limited.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>This study aimed to assess the long-term ecological and economic viability of various agroforestry systems for rehabilitating degraded land and enhancing the delivery of multiple ecosystem services in red and lateritic soils of Northeast India.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>A decade-long agroforestry field experiment (2014–2024) with silvi species Gmelina (<em>Gmelina arborea</em> Roxb), fruit plant sweet orange (<em>Citrus sinensis</em> L. Osbeck), and grain legume pigeon pea (<em>Cajanus cajan</em> L. Millsp) under monoculture and integrated agroforestry system was conducted in West Bengal in eastern India. Seven systems (monoculture and agroforestry-based) were evaluated using eleven biophysical and economic indicators, including biomass recycling, soil organic carbon, enzyme activity, microbial resilience, net margin, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSION</h3><div>The tri-component agroforestry system (Gmelina–sweet orange–pigeon pea) showed the highest multifunctionality index, producing 7.26 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ of recyclable biomass, and significantly improving soil carbon, dehydrogenase activity, water-holding capacity, and biodiversity. Economically, this system outperformed monocultures with 2–3 times higher net margin and energy efficiency. Although associated with higher GHG emission, this system offered net environmental benefits through enhanced carbon sequestration and resilience.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>This study demonstrates that the locally adapted agroforestry systems have potential to restore degraded red and lateritic soils while delivering broad ecosystem services and improving farmers' livelihoods. These results support the scaling of such systems across similar agroecological zones in India and globally.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"233 ","pages":"Article 104597"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145734210","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Responses of African food systems to climate change: A systematic review of concepts, methods, and evidence","authors":"Mark Appiah-Twumasi ,&nbsp;Cornelis Gardebroek ,&nbsp;Rico Ihle ,&nbsp;Isaac G.K. Ansah","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104577","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104577","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>African food systems are highly vulnerable to external shocks, especially climate change, yet remain central to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Research on the intersection of food systems and climate change in Africa is fragmented and lacks coherence in conceptual frameworks and measurement approaches.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study systematically reviews the peer-reviewed literature in life sciences, biomedicine and economics to assess how African food systems are conceptualized in the context of climate change, evaluate the methods used to study climate impacts, and synthesize empirical findings related to food security, nutrition, social welfare, and environmental sustainability.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We systematically review 56 peer-reviewed studies published between 2007 and 2024. Studies were selected using PRISMA guidelines and analyzed using thematic synthesis grounded in food systems and systems theory. We categorize conceptual approaches and assess methodological and empirical patterns across the selected literature.</div></div><div><h3>Results and conclusions</h3><div>Two conceptual models dominate. Complete models integrate environmental, social, and institutional linkages to capture systemic feedbacks and governance structures, while partial models focus on localized adaptation processes and actor interactions. The choice of the approach depends on the research objectives, data availability, and analytical scale. Most studies use qualitative or cross-sectional methods, limiting quantification of resilience or actor-level trade-offs—such as tensions between producers and consumers or between food security and environmental sustainability. Armed conflict or informal resource extraction are rarely integrated into climate–food system models despite their growing importance. Future research is recommended to employ hybrid, data-driven frameworks that link actor-specific dynamics with system-level feedbacks, operationalize resilience metrics, and assess the coherence of climate and food policies across all geographical and analytical scales.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>The African Union's “Decade of Action” (2021−2030) calls for science-policy efforts to address persistent development challenges through a food-systems lens. This review contributes to scientific progress and policy formulation by providing an actionable conceptual framework, synthesizing existing evidence, identifying research gaps, and proposing a future research agenda focused on resilience measurement, policy alignment, and integrated modeling of climate, conflict, and food-system interactions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"233 ","pages":"Article 104577"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145697396","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Land tenure, autonomy and crop choice: Institutional drivers of agricultural diversification in Uzbekistan","authors":"Muhammad Bilal ,&nbsp;Pishenbay Umirbekov ,&nbsp;Nodir Djanibekov ,&nbsp;Abdusame Tadjiev ,&nbsp;Bakhrom Mirkasimov","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104574","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104574","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>Crop diversification can improve income stability, reduce environmental risks, and make farming more resilient. Uzbekistan is one such country, where agriculture is shifting from a state-controlled cotton and wheat system towards a more market-oriented approach. This study explores how crop diversification is linked to institutional factors, such as farmers' sense of land security and their ability to make independent decisions.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>The study aims to understand how the variety of crops grown by farmers is related to their perceptions of land tenure security and decision-making autonomy. It also considers how training, information sources, and farm characteristics are associated with diversification outcomes.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>Using survey data from 450 farms in the Samarkand province collected in 2022, the study measures crop diversification with Simpson's Diversity Index and groups farms into low, medium, and high diversification levels. A heteroscedastic ordered probit model is applied to examine how institutional, geographic, and socio-economic factors are associated with these outcomes.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS</h3><div>Farmers who feel confident about keeping their land and who report greater freedom in deciding what to grow are more likely to have diversified crop portfolios. Attending more training programs and using land as an incentive for farm workers are also positively linked to diversification. In contrast, relying on media for agronomic information and having formal agricultural education focused on traditional crops are associated with lower diversification. Larger farms tend to avoid monoculture but are not necessarily more likely to achieve high diversification.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>These findings suggest that improving land tenure security, expanding farmer autonomy, increasing access to diverse training, and providing better-targeted farming advice can help support the shift towards more diverse and sustainable farming. This has important implications not only for Uzbekistan, but also for other countries undergoing agricultural reform.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"233 ","pages":"Article 104574"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145734206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Farmer's own decisions outweigh management strategies in reducing pesticide use in apple orchards","authors":"Isis Poinas ,&nbsp;Bertrand Gauffre ,&nbsp;Julien Papaïx ,&nbsp;Manon Denis ,&nbsp;Xavier Said ,&nbsp;Claire Lavigne","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104609","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104609","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>Efforts to reduce pesticide use, driven by concerns over their harmful effects on biodiversity and human health, have promoted alternative agricultural practices. How the farmers combine these practices in conjunction with field features, and the impact of these combinations on pesticide use remains poorly understood.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>This study aimed to identify orchard management strategies associated with reduced insecticide and fungicide use in apple orchards in south-eastern France. We further examined whether reductions in chemical pesticide use increased reliance on biopesticides, and evaluated the relative contributions of advisory organizations and farmers' identity to pesticide applications.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>We collected data from 171 orchards managed by 51 farmers, who provided treatment schedules for 2021–2023. Treatment frequency indices were calculated by pesticide category (chemical fungicides, biocontrol insecticides…), further broken down by product family (copper, virus…), target pest and specificity. We used principal component analyses (PCAs) to identify major patterns in farmer's management strategies, combining both practices (Alt'Carpo netting, irrigation type…) and orchard features (row orientation, length of adjacent hedges…). The effects of these management strategies on variation in pesticide use were then investigated using linear mixed models that included the PCA coordinates of orchards as explanatory variables. Additional models were run to assess the effects of individual practices.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS</h3><div>Pesticide use was driven primarily by farmer identity, with advisory organizations and management strategies exerting limited influence. No trade-off was observed between chemical pesticides and biopesticides: orchards sprayed with more chemical pesticides were also sprayed with more biopesticides. The absence of dominant strategies suggests considerable flexibility in orchard management. While some management strategies were associated with lower pesticide use, these effects were mainly attributable to a few single practices. Effective low-pesticide strategies included Alt'Carpo netting, an early variety, a windbreak hedge (all associated with reduced insecticide use), and flood irrigation without sprinklers (associated with reduced fungicide use). Overall, orchards with low pesticide use did not suffer higher pest or disease pressure.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>This study highlights significant potential for reducing pesticides in apple orchards, emphasizing the need for a deeper understanding of farmers' decision-making, regarding both pesticide applications and practices implemented at orchard establishment. Future research should further investigate these management strategies, with particular attention to their labor, market requirements and economic viability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"233 ","pages":"Article 104609"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145734205","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Modeling nitrogen dynamics across contrasting yield zones to close yield gaps in a commercial maize system","authors":"Arpita Sharma ,&nbsp;Rishi Prasad ,&nbsp;Anh T. Nguyen ,&nbsp;Gerrit Hoogenboom ,&nbsp;Brenda V. Ortiz ,&nbsp;Audrey V. Gamble ,&nbsp;Michelle R. Worosz ,&nbsp;Leah Duzy","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104598","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104598","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>Improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in maize systems demands a mechanistic understanding of how nitrogen (N) dynamics interact with climate variability, irrigation regimes, and within-field spatial heterogeneity. Yet, N fate pathways such as leaching, volatilization, and denitrification remain difficult to quantify across diverse zones of productivity under real-farm conditions.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>This study aimed to simulate the fate and flow of applied nitrogen across management zones with contrasting yield stability and water-holding capacity, using a process-based model under long-term weather and irrigation scenarios.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>The DSSAT CSM-CERES-Maize model was calibrated and evaluated using independent field datasets from two growing seasons across two management zones (MZs) delineated by yield stability. The calibrated model was assessed for LAI, soil moisture, yield, soil N, and N uptake. After model evaluation, simulations were conducted over 40 years (1984–2022) of weather data, categorized into drought, normal, and wet years using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), and under three irrigation scenarios: rainfed, 50 %, and 30 % management allowable depletions (MAD).</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS</h3><div>Upon calibration, DSSAT CSM CERES Maize showed good agreement between observed and simulated values for crop growth, development, and soil water and N dynamics (NRMSE &lt;15 %), supporting the use of the model for management zone-based N accounting. In 2022 high yield management zone (MZ1) exhibited higher N uptake (305 kg N ha⁻¹) and greater N losses via leaching (16.1 kg N ha⁻¹) and volatilization (33 kg N ha⁻¹), while low yield management zone (MZ2) showed elevated residual nitrate at harvest (60 kg N ha⁻¹) and higher denitrification (6.2 kg N ha⁻¹), indicating lower NUE. The long-term simulations indicated that leaching peaked under wet years (up to 33.8 kg N ha⁻¹), whereas drought years induced maximum volatilization (65.5 kg ha⁻¹). MZ2 required 45 % more irrigation to match MZ1 yields, reflecting soil-based water limitations. Moderate MAD irrigation regimes (50 %) reduced total N losses without yield penalties.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>This study demonstrates that integrating spatial field variability with long-term climate and irrigation scenarios is critical for diagnosing N inefficiencies and optimizing N use. Mechanistic modeling provides a scalable decision-support tool to design adaptive nutrients and water management strategies tailored to heterogeneous production systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"233 ","pages":"Article 104598"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145683398","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Synergistic management enhances ecosystem services through optimized specialty agro-pastoralism in the context of food security","authors":"Jiahui Jiang ,&nbsp;Jian Hou ,&nbsp;Chen Zeng ,&nbsp;Haobo Feng ,&nbsp;Zhenxing Xiong","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104600","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104600","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Clarifying the intrinsic mechanisms by which specialty agro-pastoralism (specialty crops, livestock husbandry, cash crops, and forest products) affect ecosystem services will contribute to enhancing the stability and functional redundancy of ecosystem services and meeting the demands of sustainable specialty agro-pastoralism development. However, the relationships among ecosystem services, and specialty agro-pastoralism remain unclear.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study systematically analyzed the mechanisms by which the spatial composition, configuration, and interactions of specialty agro-pastoralism affect ecosystem services and their trade-offs/synergies.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This study took typical alpine canyon areas of Southwest China as case and revealed the spatial composition and configuration of specialty agro-pastoralism. The key ecosystem services (Carbon sequestration (CS), Food supply (FS), Water yield (WY), and Soil retention (SR)) were evaluated. The trade-offs, synergies, and spatial heterogeneity patterns between ecosystem services were identified. Furthermore, the underlying mechanisms by which interactions of specialty agro-pastoralism influence ecosystem services and their trade-offs/synergies were systematically explored.</div></div><div><h3>Results and Conclusions</h3><div>Specialty agro-pastoralism were predominantly distributed in the southern region, with higher density in the east than the west. Key components included widely distributed specialty crops (e.g., <em>Hordeum vulgare, Fagopyrum tataricum</em>), livestock husbandry (e.g., <em>Bos grunniens, Sus scrofa domesticus</em>), and cash crops (e.g., <em>Ophiocordyceps sinensis, Camellia sinensis</em>), while forest products (e.g., <em>Juglans regia, Zanthoxylum bungeanum</em>) were concentrated in the southern low mountain regions. Ecosystem service interactions showed dominant synergies (CS-WY, CS-SR, WY-SR) and notable trade-offs (CS-FS, FS-WY, FS-SR). Spatially, synergies clustered in less-disturbed western areas, while trade-offs concentrated in southern areas. Specialty agro-pastoralism as key regulators of ecosystem services, in which forest products and cash crops critically enhanced soil conservation. Interactions between forest products and cash crops mitigated spatial trade-offs by optimizing resource utilization, while interactions between livestock husbandry and forest products promoted spatial synergies through coordinated management of grassland and forest resources.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>The findings provide scientific insights into the relationship between ecosystem services and specialty agro-pastoralism, as well as theoretical support for optimizing ecological agricultural layouts and sustainable development strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"233 ","pages":"Article 104600"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145683342","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From technological fixes to systemic change: Vision-led innovation for Europe's crop farming systems","authors":"David Wuepper ,&nbsp;Niklas Möhring ,&nbsp;Anna F. Cord ,&nbsp;Ana Meijide ,&nbsp;Hugo Storm ,&nbsp;Matin Qaim ,&nbsp;Thomas Heckelei ,&nbsp;Jan Börner ,&nbsp;Hadi Hadi ,&nbsp;Heiner Kuhlmann ,&nbsp;Cyrill Stachniss ,&nbsp;Frank Ewert","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104593","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104593","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>So far, agricultural technologies have mostly been developed to economize on expensive production inputs or to expand production in response to demand. The interplay of these individual, narrow-focused technology developments has profoundly transformed agricultural systems. In particular, economies of scale have led to large machinery, for which fields had to be made larger, more homogeneous, and more regularly shaped. This has considerably increased agricultural productivity, but has also come with considerable costs, such as soil degradation and biodiversity loss. We here propose a new paradigm for agricultural technology development, in which a vision for a more sustainable agricultural system is developed first, followed by the advancement of the required technologies, alongside complementary institutional reforms, policy changes, and novel business models to achieve it. In this paper, we systematically take stock of where we are in this process, i.e., how to identify target systems, what is the current technological frontier in sensing, robotics, AI modeling, breeding, and environmental monitoring, and which policy and business model innovations are now needed to realize the highest economic and environmental benefits at the lowest cost (financially and non-financially). This crucially includes anticipation of risks and the management of trade-offs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"233 ","pages":"Article 104593"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145683444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}