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Agriculture
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Diversified Cropping Systems: Synergizing Productivity, Carbon Sequestration, and Ecosystem Services
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Diversified Cropping Systems: Synergizing Productivity, Carbon Sequestration, and Ecosystem Services

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Systems and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 927

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Huadong Zang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Interests: sustainable agriculture; diversified cropping; soil carbon sequestration; ecosystem mutifunction; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Zhengjun Yan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Agronomy, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
Interests: sustainable agriculture; soil carbon sequestration; soil fertility; diversified cropping; soil health
Dr. Qi Liu

E-Mail
Guest Editor Assistant
School of Breeding and Multiplication (Sanya Institute of Breeding and Multiplication), Hainan University, Sanya 572025, China
Interests: soil carbon sequestration; diversified cropping; soil fertility

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Facing the dual challenges of climate change and food security, it is imperative to surpass a simple trade-off between productivity and the environment. Diversified cropping systems—such as legume-based rotations, intercropping, and cover cropping—harness ecological principles to offer a synergistic solution, simultaneously increasing crop yield, soil carbon sequestration, and vital ecosystem services.

This Special Issue aims to compile cutting-edge research that decodes the mechanisms and quantifies the synergistic benefits of diversified cropping systems, focusing on co-enhancing agricultural productivity, soil carbon sequestration, and key ecosystem services. We welcome studies that move beyond reporting multiple impacts to reveal the interlinked processes that drive these synergies or manage trade-offs.

We invite the submission of high-quality original research articles, comprehensive reviews, in-depth case studies, and methodological papers. Contributions should present novel findings or syntheses focusing on (but not limited to) the following areas:

  1. Design principles and long-term field evaluation of novel diversified cropping.
  2. Mechanisms governing soil carbon sequestration, nutrient dynamics, and ecosystem service provision under diversified cropping.
  3. Modeling and upscaling of diversified cropping practices.
  4. Integrated assessment of diversified cropping (productivity, GHG balance, water footprint, and economic viability).

Prof. Dr. Huadong Zang
Dr. Zhengjun Yan
Guest Editors

Dr. Qi Liu
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • intercropping
  • legume-based rotations
  • cover cropping productivity
  • ecosystem services
  • soil health
  • carbon sequestration
  • greenhouse gas mitigation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2950 KB  
Article
Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Economic Benefits, and Emergy-Based Sustainability in Ratoon Rice–Duck Coculture in the Jianghan Plain
by Yong Zhou, Changchun Li, Wenjian Wang, Zuolin Zhang, Qiao Luo, Jiangwen Nie, Bo Zhu, Zhangyong Liu and Zijuan Ding
Agriculture 2026, 16(11), 1172; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16111172 - 27 May 2026
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Abstract
Ratoon rice monoculture system (RR) is a labor-efficient and high-yielding cropping system in southern China. The rice–duck coculture system has been increasingly recognized as a mutually beneficial agricultural practice. However, the environmental impacts, economic performance, and sustainability of transitioning from a RR monoculture [...] Read more.
Ratoon rice monoculture system (RR) is a labor-efficient and high-yielding cropping system in southern China. The rice–duck coculture system has been increasingly recognized as a mutually beneficial agricultural practice. However, the environmental impacts, economic performance, and sustainability of transitioning from a RR monoculture to a ratoon rice–duck system (RR-D) coculture remain unclear. A three-year (2022–2024) field experiment with three replications was therefore conducted in the Jianghan Plain, China (29°41′ N, 112°25′ E), to compare greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, economic benefits, and emergy-based sustainability indicators between the RR and RR-D systems at a significant level of p < 0.05. The results showed that the RR-D significantly reduced CH4 emissions by 25.7–39.5% but increased N2O emissions by 18.7–122.2%. The average global warming potential (GWP) and GHG intensity decreased by 27.8% and 30.7%, respectively. Meanwhile, RR-D increased economic benefits by 131.0–167.1%, but lowered the unit emergy value per economic benefit (UEVBenefits), renewable emergy ratio (%R), emergy yield ratio (EYR), and emergy sustainability index (ESI), and increased the environmental loading ratio (ELR). Overall, RR-D may improve economic returns and GHG mitigation, but its emergy-based sustainability requires optimization of feed, labor, and duck stocking density. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diversified Cropping Systems: Synergizing Productivity, Carbon Sequestration, and Ecosystem Services)
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16 pages, 3865 KB  
Article
Oat–Rapeseed Intercropping Enhances Forage Yield and Quality in the Southern Foot of the Greater Khingan Mountains
by Li Han, Haoqi Jin, Zhe Wang, Xiaorong Wu, Xinyao Zhao, Hongjie Zhang, Jinhu Yang, Fang Luo and Lijun Li
Agriculture 2026, 16(5), 576; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16050576 - 3 Mar 2026
Viewed by 414
Abstract
To address the seasonal forage shortage in the southern foothills of the Greater Khingan Mountains in Inner Mongolia, this study investigated the effects of intercropping forage oat with rapeseed on forage yield, nutritional quality, and resource utilization. The experiment was conducted in Arun [...] Read more.
To address the seasonal forage shortage in the southern foothills of the Greater Khingan Mountains in Inner Mongolia, this study investigated the effects of intercropping forage oat with rapeseed on forage yield, nutritional quality, and resource utilization. The experiment was conducted in Arun Banner, Hulunbuir City during 2023–2024, where a second crop was established after a first cut of forage oat. Three planting patterns were compared: monoculture oat (AO), monoculture rapeseed (BR), and oat–rapeseed intercropping (CO‖CR). The results showed that the yield of the intercropping system was higher than monoculture oat but lower than monoculture rapeseed. However, the system demonstrated an advantage in land use efficiency, with a land equivalent ratio (LER) of 1.161. Compared to their respective monocultures, intercropping significantly increased the dry matter yield of rapeseed by 38.4%, whereas the effect on oat yield was limited. Intercropping significantly increased the crude protein and crude fat content in both crops compared to their monocultures but had no significant effect on soluble sugar content. Furthermore, intercropping significantly reduced the neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber content in both crops, resulting in higher relative feed value. Regarding water and nitrogen utilization, the water use efficiency of monoculture rapeseed was significantly higher than that of the intercropping system and monoculture oat by 20.7–21.5% and 90.2–113.2%. The total nitrogen accumulation in the intercropping system was significantly higher than in monoculture oat by 97.7–117.3% but showed no significant difference from monoculture rapeseed. In conclusion, adopting the oat–rapeseed intercropping pattern can significantly increase forage yield, improve nutritional quality, enhance water and nitrogen uptake and utilization efficiency, and achieve a coordinated improvement in high yield, quality, and efficiency for forage production in the southern foothills of the Greater Khingan Mountains. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diversified Cropping Systems: Synergizing Productivity, Carbon Sequestration, and Ecosystem Services)
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