Summary
This global meta-analysis of 193 studies examined temporal yield stability—the reliability and consistency of production across years—in organic agriculture, conservation agriculture (no-tillage), and conventional farming systems. The analysis found that organic agriculture exhibits significantly lower temporal stability (−15% per unit yield) compared to conventional agriculture, despite its environmental and biodiversity benefits. The findings suggest that enhanced fertilisation and green manure practices can narrow this stability gap, whilst no-tillage systems show comparable stability to conventional tillage.
UK applicability
The findings are directly applicable to UK farming policy and practice, particularly given the policy emphasis on organic farming expansion and soil conservation. UK farmers considering transition to organic systems should account for increased yield variability as an agronomic risk, and may benefit from adoption of green manure and optimised fertilisation strategies to mitigate stability losses.
Key measures
Temporal yield stability (coefficient of variation or similar measures of year-to-year yield variability); percentage difference in stability relative to conventional agriculture baseline
Outcomes reported
The study compared temporal yield stability (year-to-year variability) across organic agriculture, conservation agriculture (no-tillage), and conventional agriculture systems using meta-analysis of 193 studies comprising 2896 comparisons. It quantified the percentage difference in yield stability between these three major cropping systems and identified management practices that could reduce stability gaps.
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