Summary
This three-year field experiment with seven crop species demonstrates contrasting patterns of yield stability between individual crops and crop communities. Whilst individual species exhibited greater yield fluctuation in mixtures than monocultures, community-level yield variability was lower in diverse mixtures compared to monocultures under fertilised Mediterranean conditions. The finding that selection history in mixtures can increase productivity and reduce yield variability in subsequent monocultures suggests that interspecific crop interactions act as an evolutionary selective force promoting niche complementarity.
UK applicability
The findings are based on Mediterranean climate conditions with irrigation and fertiliser input, which may limit direct applicability to UK temperate maritime conditions and rain-fed systems. However, the ecological principles underlying niche complementarity and diversity-stability relationships in cropping systems are likely transferable to UK farming contexts, particularly for managed crop rotation and polyculture systems.
Key measures
Temporal variability of yield (species-level and community-level); crop species richness; fertiliser application; selection history effects on yield productivity and variability
Outcomes reported
The study measured temporal variability of crop yield over three years in monocultures versus diverse crop mixtures, examining both species-level and community-level yield stability. It assessed how selection history in crop mixtures influences yield productivity and variability in subsequent monocultures.
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