Long-term agricultural diversification increases financial profitability, biodiversity, and ecosystem services: a second-order meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT: Sustainable agriculture in the 21^st century requires the production of sufficient food, while reducing environmental impacts and safeguarding human livelihoods. Many studies have confirmed agricultural diversification with practices such as intercropping, organic farming, and soil inoculations, as suitable pathways to achieve these goals, but the long-term viability of socioeconomic and ecological benefits is uncertain. Here, we use a second-order meta-analysis to quantify long-term effects of agricultural diversification practices on socioeconomic and ecological benefits based on 120 years of data from 184 meta-analyses with 6741 effect sizes. Diversification increases financial profitability, biodiversity, pollination, soil quality, and carbon sequestration from 37 to 189% ove

SUBMITTER: Raveloaritiana E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12847752 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature