Reconciling crop production, climate action and nature conservation in Europe by agricultural intensification and extensification.

ABSTRACT: Agricultural production in areas characterized by low productivity, steep slopes, and high fragmentation is usually associated with higher-than-average management costs and environmental impacts. Abandoning this suboptimal cropland to vegetation regrowth, while optimizing crop production in other locations, is an attractive strategy for supporting climate and biodiversity targets without compromising food security. However, it has not yet been explored within the specific context of European agriculture. Here, we identify the area extent of suboptimal cropland in Europe and assess if crop production losses from its revegetation can be compensated by implementing scenarios of cropland intensification or extensification elsewhere. We found 24.2 million hectares of suboptimal cropland, of whi

SUBMITTER: Hua T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12638777 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature