Multiple Sustainable Practices Are Crucial for Enhancing the Provisioning of Agroecosystem Services Worldwide

Abstract

Feeding the largest share of the global population, cereal production must enhance sustainability while ensuring food security under global change. Unfortunately, the number of sustainable practices needed to support production, ecosystem services and land conservation remains virtually unknown. We compiled a database of 1570 observations from 349 sites in 57 countries to assess how the number of sustainable practices influences multiple ecosystem services. Our findings reveal that a high number of sustainable practices is crucial for enhancing agroecosystem services such as soil carbon storage, fertility and microbial habitat while supporting yield. Sustainable practices such as crop rotation, limited tillage and incorporation of crop residues were especially important. North America, Eastern Europe and China were particularly dependent on the use of multiple sustainable practices to maintain ecosystem services. Findings underscore the need for integrative strategies employing multiple sustainable practices for mitigating global change, ensuring food security and sustaining ecosystems.