Summary
This 2025 systematic review synthesises peer-reviewed evidence on the agricultural, environmental, and economic effects of crop rotation and cover crop practices across diverse farming systems and agroecological contexts. The authors conclude that adoption benefits and implementation constraints are context-dependent, contingent on farm-specific conditions, farmer priorities, regional climate and soils, and economic sustainability. The review provides structured evidence on how crop diversity management practices interact with local farming systems and their economic viability.
Regional applicability
The review's findings on temperate and cool-climate contexts are likely applicable to UK farming systems; however, the generalisability of tropical and arid-region evidence to British conditions is limited. UK farmers and policymakers may find the synthesis useful for evidence-based promotion of crop rotation and cover crops under Common Agricultural Policy agri-environment schemes, though adoption will depend on local soil type, rainfall, and market conditions.
Key measures
Agricultural outcomes (crop yield, pest and disease incidence, weed pressure); environmental outcomes (soil organic matter, microbial activity, nutrient availability, biodiversity); economic outcomes (input costs, labour requirements, profitability); adoption barriers and enablers across farm types and regions
Outcomes reported
This systematic review assessed the agricultural (yield, pest/disease management), environmental (soil health, biodiversity, nutrient cycling), and economic (cost–benefit, profitability) effects of crop rotation and cover crop adoption. The authors synthesised evidence across diverse farming systems and agroecological contexts to identify context-dependent benefits and implementation constraints.
Topic tags
Dig deeper with Pulse AI.
Pulse AI has read the whole catalogue. Ask about this record, its theme, or how the findings apply to UK farming and policy — every answer cites the underlying studies.