Global systematic review with meta-analysis reveals yield advantage of legume-based rotations and its drivers

Jie Zhao; Ji Chen; Damien Beillouin; Hans Lambers; Yadong Yang; Pete Smith; Zhaohai Zeng; Jørgen E. Olesen; Huadong Zang

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-32464-0

Global systematic review with meta-analysis reveals yield advantage of legume-based rotations and its drivers

Jie Zhao
, Ji Chen
, Damien Beillouin
, Hans Lambers
, Yadong Yang
, Pete Smith
, Zhaohai Zeng^*
, Jørgen E. Olesen
, Huadong Zang

^*Corresponding author for this work

Aberdeen Centre For Environmental Sustainability

China Agricultural University
Aarhus University
UPR HORTSYS
University of Western Australia

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

297 Citations (Scopus)

12 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Diversified cropping systems, especially those including legumes, have been proposed to enhance food production with reduced inputs and environmental impacts. However, the impact of legume pre-crops on main crop yield and its drivers has never been systematically investigated in a global context. Here, we synthesize 11,768 yield observations from 462 field experiments comparing legume-based and non-legume cropping systems and show that legumes enhanced main crop yield by 20%. These yield advantages decline with increasing N fertilizer rates and crop diversity of the main cropping system. The yield benefits are consistent among main crops (e.g., rice, wheat, maize) and evident across pedo-climatic regions. Moreover, greater yield advantages (32% vs. 7%) are observed in low- vs. high-yielding environments, suggesting legumes increase crop production with low inputs (e.g., in Africa or organic agriculture). In conclusion, our study suggests that legume-based rotations offer a critical pathway for enhancing global crop production, especially when integrated into low-input and low-diversity agricultural systems.

Crop rotations including legumes have been proposed as a strategy to enhance food production. Here, the authors conduct a global meta-analysis on legume-based crop rotations, showing that legume pre-crops increase 20% of yield in average across various crops and climatic regions.

Original language	English
Article number	4926
Pages (from-to)	4926
Number of pages	9
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	13
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32464-0
Publication status	Published - 22 Aug 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32101850, H.D.Z.; 32172125, Z.H.Z.), the Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST (2020QNRC001, H.D.Z.), the Joint Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U21A20218, Z.H.Z.) and the earmarked fund for China Agriculture Research System (CARS-07-B-5, Z.H.Z.). Contributions from Dr. Ji Chen are funded by H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (No. 839806), Aarhus University Research Foundation (AUFF-E-2019-7-1), Danish Independent Research Foundation (1127-00015B), and Nordic Committee of Agriculture and Food Research. We thank the authors whose work is included in this meta-analysis. We also thank Beibei Xin and Zhen Qin for their assistance on high-performance computing and the High-performance Computing Platform of China Agricultural University.

Funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32101850, H.D.Z.; 32172125, Z.H.Z.), the Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST (2020QNRC001, H.D.Z.), the Joint Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U21A20218, Z.H.Z.) and the earmarked fund for China Agriculture Research System (CARS-07-B-5, Z.H.Z.). Contributions from Dr. Ji Chen are funded by H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (No. 839806), Aarhus University Research Foundation (AUFF-E-2019-7-1), Danish Independent Research Foundation (1127-00015B), and Nordic Committee of Agriculture and Food Research. We thank the authors whose work is included in this meta-analysis. We also thank Beibei Xin and Zhen Qin for their assistance on high-performance computing and the High-performance Computing Platform of China Agricultural University.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 2 Zero Hunger

Keywords

Agriculture
Crop Production
Crops, Agricultural
Fabaceae
Fertilizers/analysis
Vegetables

Access to Document

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Cite this

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title = "Global systematic review with meta-analysis reveals yield advantage of legume-based rotations and its drivers",

abstract = "Diversified cropping systems, especially those including legumes, have been proposed to enhance food production with reduced inputs and environmental impacts. However, the impact of legume pre-crops on main crop yield and its drivers has never been systematically investigated in a global context. Here, we synthesize 11,768 yield observations from 462 field experiments comparing legume-based and non-legume cropping systems and show that legumes enhanced main crop yield by 20\%. These yield advantages decline with increasing N fertilizer rates and crop diversity of the main cropping system. The yield benefits are consistent among main crops (e.g., rice, wheat, maize) and evident across pedo-climatic regions. Moreover, greater yield advantages (32\% vs. 7\%) are observed in low- vs. high-yielding environments, suggesting legumes increase crop production with low inputs (e.g., in Africa or organic agriculture). In conclusion, our study suggests that legume-based rotations offer a critical pathway for enhancing global crop production, especially when integrated into low-input and low-diversity agricultural systems.Crop rotations including legumes have been proposed as a strategy to enhance food production. Here, the authors conduct a global meta-analysis on legume-based crop rotations, showing that legume pre-crops increase 20\% of yield in average across various crops and climatic regions.",

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author = "Jie Zhao and Ji Chen and Damien Beillouin and Hans Lambers and Yadong Yang and Pete Smith and Zhaohai Zeng and Olesen, \{J{\o}rgen E.\} and Huadong Zang",

note = "Funding Information: This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32101850, H.D.Z.; 32172125, Z.H.Z.), the Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST (2020QNRC001, H.D.Z.), the Joint Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U21A20218, Z.H.Z.) and the earmarked fund for China Agriculture Research System (CARS-07-B-5, Z.H.Z.). Contributions from Dr. Ji Chen are funded by H2020 Marie Sk{\l}odowska-Curie Actions (No. 839806), Aarhus University Research Foundation (AUFF-E-2019-7-1), Danish Independent Research Foundation (1127-00015B), and Nordic Committee of Agriculture and Food Research. We thank the authors whose work is included in this meta-analysis. We also thank Beibei Xin and Zhen Qin for their assistance on high-performance computing and the High-performance Computing Platform of China Agricultural University. ",

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AU - Smith, Pete

AU - Zeng, Zhaohai

AU - Olesen, Jørgen E.

AU - Zang, Huadong

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N2 - Diversified cropping systems, especially those including legumes, have been proposed to enhance food production with reduced inputs and environmental impacts. However, the impact of legume pre-crops on main crop yield and its drivers has never been systematically investigated in a global context. Here, we synthesize 11,768 yield observations from 462 field experiments comparing legume-based and non-legume cropping systems and show that legumes enhanced main crop yield by 20%. These yield advantages decline with increasing N fertilizer rates and crop diversity of the main cropping system. The yield benefits are consistent among main crops (e.g., rice, wheat, maize) and evident across pedo-climatic regions. Moreover, greater yield advantages (32% vs. 7%) are observed in low- vs. high-yielding environments, suggesting legumes increase crop production with low inputs (e.g., in Africa or organic agriculture). In conclusion, our study suggests that legume-based rotations offer a critical pathway for enhancing global crop production, especially when integrated into low-input and low-diversity agricultural systems.Crop rotations including legumes have been proposed as a strategy to enhance food production. Here, the authors conduct a global meta-analysis on legume-based crop rotations, showing that legume pre-crops increase 20% of yield in average across various crops and climatic regions.

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KW - Crop Production

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KW - Fabaceae

KW - Fertilizers/analysis

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Global systematic review with meta-analysis reveals yield advantage of legume-based rotations and its drivers

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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