Harvest, soil microbe diversity and multifuncionality – the earth’s ability to perform ecosystem services, were measured at 155 farms in Sweden, France, Germany, Spain and Switzerland. It became clear that the proportion of land that were kept green during the crop rotation played a greater role for all parameters than the number of crops in the crop rotation itself, if the crop rotation was not very one-sided.
The study lasted for ten years and showed that the larger the part of the soil that was covered over the years, the greater the positive effects on the ecosystem services delivered from the ground. This ultimately resulted in a higher yield. It may therefore be a good idea to review the proportion of soil cover in the crop rotation and possibly include cover crops between the main crops.
However, Sara Hallin, SLU, one of the authors of the article, believes that it is important to keep in mind that high multifunctionality and high yield do not always correlate and that one should consider the balance of land use so that they do not counteract each other.
