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Field-level land-use data reveal heterogeneous crop sequences with distinct regional differences in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Jänicke, Clemens
  • Goddard, Adam
  • Stein, Susanne
  • Steinmann, Horst-Henning
  • Lakes, Tobia
  • Nendel, Claas
  • Müller, Daniel

Abstract

Crop cultivation intensifies globally, which can jeopardize biodiversity and the resilience of cropping systems. We investigate changes in crop rotations as one intensification metric for half of the croplands in Germany with annual field-level land-use data from 2005 to 2018. We proxy crop rotations with crop sequences and compare how these sequences changed among three seven-year periods. The results reveal an overall high diversity of crop sequences in Germany. Half of the cropland has crop sequences with four or more crops within a seven-year period, while continuous cultivation of the same crop is present on only 2% of the cropland. Larger farms tend to have more diverse crop sequences and organic farms have lower shares of cereal crops. In three federal states, crop rotations became less structurally diverse over time, i.e. the number of crops and the number of changes between crops decreased. In one state, structural diversity increased and the proportion of monocropping decreased. The functional diversity of the crop sequences, which measures the share of winter and spring crops as well as the share of leaf and cereal crops per sequence, remained largely stable. Trends towards cereal- or leaf-crop dominated sequences varied between the states, and no clear overall dynamic could be observed. However, the share of winter crops per sequence decreased in all four federal states. Quantifying the dynamics of crop sequences at the field level is an important metric of land-use intensity and can reveal the patterns of land-use intensification.

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  • Jänicke, Clemens & Goddard, Adam & Stein, Susanne & Steinmann, Horst-Henning & Lakes, Tobia & Nendel, Claas & Müller, Daniel, 2022. "Field-level land-use data reveal heterogeneous crop sequences with distinct regional differences in Germany," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 141, pages 1-12.
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:264449
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eja.2022.126632
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kristensen, Søren Bech Pilgaard & Busck, Anne Gravsholt & van der Sluis, Theo & Gaube, Veronika, 2016. "Patterns and drivers of farm-level land use change in selected European rural landscapes," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 786-799.
    2. MacWilliam, Susan & Parker, David & Marinangeli, Christopher P.F. & Trémorin, Denis, 2018. "A meta-analysis approach to examining the greenhouse gas implications of including dry peas (Pisum sativum L.) and lentils (Lens culinaris M.) in crop rotations in western Canada," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 101-110.
    3. Niedertscheider, Maria & Kuemmerle, Tobias & Müller, Daniel & Erb, Karl-Heinz, 2014. "Exploring the effects of drastic institutional and socio-economic changes on land system dynamics in Germany between 1883 and 2007," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 28, pages 98-108.
    4. Wu, Wenbin & Yu, Qiangyi & You, Liangzhi & Chen, Kevin & Tang, Huajun & Liu, Jianguo, 2018. "Global cropping intensity gaps: Increasing food production without cropland expansion," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 515-525.
    5. Erb, Karl-Heinz & Haberl, Helmut & Jepsen, Martin Rudbeck & Kuemmerle, Tobias & Lindner, Marcus & Müller, Daniel & Verburg, Peter H & Reenberg, Anette, 2013. "A conceptual framework for analysing and measuring land-use intensity," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 5(5), pages 464-470.
    6. Kuemmerle, Tobias & Erb, Karlheinz & Meyfroidt, Patrick & Müller, Daniel & Verburg, Peter H & Estel, Stephan & Haberl, Helmut & Hostert, Patrick & Jepsen, Martin R. & Kastner, Thomas & Levers, Christi, 2013. "Challenges and opportunities in mapping land use intensity globally," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 5(5), pages 484-493.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jänicke, Clemens & Wesemeyer, Maximilian & Chiarella, Cristina & Lakes, Tobia & Levers, Christian & Meyfroidt, Patrick & Müller, Daniel & Pratzer, Marie & Rufin, Philippe, 2024. "Can we estimate farm size from field size? An empirical investigation of the field size to farm size relationship," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 220.
    2. Schiller, Josepha & Jänicke, Clemens & Reckling, Moritz & Ryo, Masahiro, 2024. "Higher crop rotational diversity in more simplified agricultural landscapes in Northeastern Germany," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 39(4).
    3. Grahmann, Kathrin & Reckling, Moritz & Hernández-Ochoa, Ixchel & Donat, Marco & Bellingrath-Kimura, Sonoko & Ewert, Frank, 2024. "Co-designing a landscape experiment to investigate diversified cropping systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).

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