Agronomic Strategies for Climate Adaptation and Sustainable Production in Diversified Cropping Systems

Today`s agriculture faces competing demands. Farmers are expected to maintain or increase productivity on the same land area, while decades of simplified rotations and intensive input use left soils more vulnerable to weather extremes. Cereals dominated systems narrowed agrobiodiversity and contributed to soil degradation. Climate change is making this situation more urgent. Rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and more frequent and pronounced drought and heat reduce crop yields in many regions, particularly in systems that depend on narrow range of crops. Crop diversification offers many practical solutions to this challenge. Expanding the range of species in rotations, through intercrops, cover crops, or simply broadening the rotation itself, enhances soil microbiome activity, reduces pest and disease pressure, gives crops better chance to cope with unpredictable weather, and distributes production risk across the season. Oilseed crops and grain legumes break cereal monoculture, improve soil structure and nitrogen use efficiency, which are benefits that cereals alone cannot provide. What is still missing is a clearer picture of how diversification strategies perform across whole farming systems, over time, and across diverse environments. Recent advances in precision agronomy, long-term rotation experiments, and research on minor crops, including oilseeds, legumes and multi-species cover crop mixtures open new possibilities for evidence-based system design.This Research Topic aims to bring together field-based and applied research that advances our understanding of how crop diversification can be effectively designed and managed to improve agronomic performance, climate resilience, soil health, and long-term sustainability in changing climate conditions. Contributions from broad range of environments are encouraged, particularly from semi-arid, rain fed, and transitional climatic regions where impact of climate change is most pronounced and where diversification is needed. The goal is to provide practical, regionally relevant information that connects results of field trials with a broader view of cropping systems. We seek to support transition toward farming practices that are better adapted to changing climate.We welcome original research articles, reviews, and perspectives on topics including design of crop rotation systems and their effects on soil health, weed suppression, and subsequent crop performance; intercropping systems and their agronomic, environmental, and economic outcomes; cover crops and their role in soil improvement and nutrient cycling; mitigation of risks related to climate risks e.g. erosion, lack of moisture; integration of oilseed crops and grain legumes into diversified cropping systems and agronomic benefits they deliver; adaptive management practices including sowing date, plant density, and fertilization optimization under variable and extreme climatic conditions; ecosystem services, sustainability assessments, and economic analyses at field and farm scale. Studies focusing on diversification in rain-fed and low-input systems are also welcome, as well as studies that present contribution of diversified systems to climate change adaptation at field or farm scale. Topic editors: Ana Marjanovic Jeromela, Dragana Rajković Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80535/agronomic-strategies-for-climate-adaptation-and-sustainable-production-in-diversified-cropping-systems