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022 _a2211-9124
024 8 _ahttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100857
040 _aMX-TxCIM
041 _aeng
100 1 _avan Ittersum, M.K.
_93944
245 1 0 _aNarrowing the ecological yield gap to sustain crop yields with less inputs
260 _aNetherlands :
_bElsevier B.V.,
_c2025.
500 _aPeer review
520 _aSustainable production of sufficient and healthy food requires efficient use of agricultural inputs. In many regions of the world with intensive agriculture and relatively small yield gaps, this calls for a reduction of external inputs (fertilizers and pesticides) while maintaining yields. Ecological intensification, defined as the use of practices that enhance on-farm ecosystem services to reduce external input requirements, has been proposed as a strategy to help achieve this. However, the effects of ecological intensification are context- and input-dependent, creating uncertainty on its effectiveness and feasibility. Here, we introduce the concept of an ‘ecological yield gap’ to provide a common analytical framework to strengthen collaboration between agronomists and ecologists in assessing the contribution of ecosystem services within the wider array of inputs, management practices, technologies, and biophysical limits that determine on-farm crop yields. We define the ecological yield gap as the yield increase that could be achieved in a given context (climate x soil x cropping system), and at a given input level, by increasing the delivery of ecosystem services via ecological intensification practices that support crop growth and substitute external inputs. We provide empirical examples of such practices, including crop diversification, service crops, and organic amendments that can increase the use efficiency of mineral fertilizers and suppress pests, weeds and diseases. The potential of these practices to narrow the ecological yield gap and their feasibility at farm level depend on how the ecosystem services they provide interact with other aspects of the farming system and requires analysis at farm level. This perspective paper aims to facilitate a shared research agenda among agronomists and ecologists to develop complementarity between ecosystem services and inputs at field and farm levels.
546 _aText in English
597 _dSwedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)
_dSwedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (Formas)
650 7 _aAgronomy
_2AGROVOC
_96289
650 7 _aCrops
_2AGROVOC
_91069
650 7 _aNutrients
_2AGROVOC
_91192
650 7 _aIntensification
_2AGROVOC
_91957
650 7 _aEcosystem services
_2AGROVOC
_97299
650 7 _aFertilizers
_2AGROVOC
_91111
650 7 _aPesticides
_2AGROVOC
_91200
650 7 _aProduction Functions
_2AGROVOC
_99143
700 1 _aSilva, J.V.
_8001712458
_gSustainable Agrifood Systems
_99320
700 1 _aBommarco, R.
_938733
700 1 _aHijbeek, R.
_98982
700 1 _aLundin, O.
_938734
700 1 _aNandillon, R.
_938735
700 1 _aBergkvist, G.
_938736
700 1 _aMenegat, A.
_938633
700 1 _aÖborn, I.
_97587
700 1 _aSöderholm-Emas, A.
_938738
700 1 _aStoddard, F.L.
_938739
700 1 _aVico, G.
_938740
700 1 _aVonk, W.J.
_928263
700 1 _aWatson, C.
_928549
700 1 _aMacLaren, C.
_8001713990
_gFormerly Sustainable Agrifood Systems
_922083
773 0 _tGlobal Food Security
_gv. 45, art. 100857
_dNetherlands : Elsevier B.V., 2025
_x2211-9124
856 4 _yOpen Access through DSpace
_uhttps://hdl.handle.net/10883/35631
942 _cJA
_n0
_2ddc
999 _c68763
_d68755