Evaluating the transition of marginal grasslands to arable systems for human-protein production through an in silico long-term experiment

Summary

The shift from livestock grazing to arable cropping systems is increasingly proposed to enhance protein production efficiency in temperate agricultural landscapes. However, for such transitions to support food security goals, the resulting grain must meet the crude protein content (PC) threshold set by the food industry of ≥13%. Through model simulations, we investigated the effects of nitrogen (N) fertilization rate, cultivar, sowing date, and late fertilization on wheat grain quality under variable climatic conditions at the North Wyke Farm Platform in southwest England, UK. While this region offers one of the UK’s most favourable climates for wheat yield potential, its marginal soils pose significant agronomic constraints. Using a process-based modelling framework, we conducted 5,028 si