Crop Diversification for Agroecosystem Resilience

Climate change is increasingly exposing agricultural systems to drought, heat stress, erratic rainfall and extreme weather events, threatening food security and ecosystem stability. Crop diversification—the deliberate cultivation of multiple crop species or varieties within agricultural systems through practices such as intercropping, mixed cropping, crop rotations, cover cropping, relay cropping and cultivar diversification—is widely recognized as an effective agroecological strategy for improving resilience at the plot and farm scales. By increasing plant diversity and complementarity among crops, diversification strengthens ecological interactions, improves soil health, enhances nutrient cycling, increases water-use efficiency, suppresses pests and diseases and stabilizes crop production under climatic stress. Despite growing evidence of these benefits, important knowledge gaps remain regarding the ecological mechanisms, context-specific performance and long-term resilience outcomes of crop diversification across diverse agroecosystems. Addressing these gaps is essential for developing scientifically sound strategies for climate-resilient agriculture.This Research Topic aims to advance scientific understanding of how crop diversification enhances agroecosystem resilience under changing climatic conditions. We invite studies that investigate the ecological, biological and agronomic mechanisms through which diversified crop communities improve resilience to climate variability and extreme weather events. Contributions should focus on crop diversification practices implemented at the plot and farm levels, including intercropping, crop rotations, relay cropping, mixed cropping, cover cropping, cultivar mixtures and other complementary crop combinations. We particularly welcome studies evaluating impacts on soil ecological processes, biodiversity, nutrient and water dynamics, biological pest regulation, resource-use efficiency, productivity stability and ecosystem services. Comparative analyses across contrasting agroecological environments, long-term experiments, modelling approaches and innovative management strategies are encouraged. This Research Topic seeks to strengthen the scientific evidence supporting crop diversification as a practical agroecological approach for climate adaptation and resilient food production.This Research Topic welcomes Original Research, Reviews, Mini Reviews, Methods, Perspectives, Brief Research Reports, and Data Reports that improve understanding of how crop diversification enhances agroecosystem resilience under climate variability and climate change. Manuscripts should emphasize crop diversification at the plot and farm scales rather than broader landscape or regional cropping system diversification. Contributions should advance knowledge of ecological processes, resilience mechanisms, and management strategies associated with diversified crop production.Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:We welcome manuscripts and reviews addressing, but not limited to the following sub-themes:ü Crop diversification practices including intercropping, mixed cropping, crop rotations, relay cropping, cover cropping, strip cropping and cultivar diversification.ü Functional crop diversity and species complementarity for enhancing agroecosystem resilience.ü Ecological mechanisms linking crop diversification with resilience under drought, heat stress, floods and erratic rainfall.ü Effects of crop diversification on soil health, soil biodiversity, nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration.ü Biodiversity-mediated ecosystem services in diversified cropping systems.ü Water, nutrient, light and energy use efficiency in diversified crop production.ü Crop diversification for biological pest, disease and weed management.ü Crop diversification and climate change adaptation and mitigation.ü Long-term field experiments evaluating diversified cropping systems.ü Modelling, remote sensing, AI, and digital tools for assessing crop diversification and resilience.ü Socio-economic, policy and adoption aspects of crop diversification.ü Integration of crop diversification with conservation agriculture, regenerative agriculture and sustainable intensification.ü Crop diversification for improving productivity, nutritional security, ecosystem services and environmental sustainability.ü Integrated Farming Systems as a strategy for resilient and diversified agricultural production under climate change.The following article types are encouraged:· Original Research· Review· Mini Review· Methods· Perspective· Brief Research Report· Data Report Topic editors: Malu Ram Yadav, Rakesh Kumar, Vishnu D. Rajput, Subhash Babu, Rani Saxena, Dinesh Kumar Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83284/crop-diversification-for-agroecosystem-resilience