Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 4 — Narrative / commentaryPeer-reviewed

The soil health-yield trade-off: A critical gap in assessing regenerative organic agriculture

Rodrigo Ferraz Ramos

Ecosystem Services · 2026

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Summary

This narrative review by Ramos (2026) addresses a critical gap in the regenerative organic agriculture literature by examining the trade-off between soil health improvements and agronomic yield. The paper suggests that existing assessments often fail to adequately weigh the economic and productive costs of soil-health-focused practices, particularly where yield reductions occur. The work contributes to a more nuanced understanding of whether regenerative systems can simultaneously optimise soil ecosystem services and food production, with implications for the practical adoption and policy support of these approaches.

UK applicability

Given the UK's growing interest in soil health through schemes such as the Sustainable Farming Incentive, this review is directly relevant to understanding whether regenerative practices can deliver both environmental and productive outcomes under UK conditions. The findings may inform policy design regarding trade-off acceptance and financial support mechanisms.

Key measures

As suggested by the title: soil health indicators (type unspecified from metadata) and crop yield measurements; ecosystem service valuations

Outcomes reported

The paper examines the relationship between soil health improvements and agronomic yield outcomes in regenerative organic agriculture. It identifies and critiques a significant gap in the literature regarding how soil health gains are assessed relative to production trade-offs.

Theme
Farming systems, soils & land use
Subject
Regenerative & agroecological farming
Study type
Narrative Review
Study design
Narrative review
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
System type
Regenerative systems
DOI
10.1016/j.ecoser.2026.101823
Catalogue ID
NRmowxdyw2-000

Topic tags

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