Impact of crop diversification on soil microbial diversity, yield, and soil multifunctionality

As the population expands, finding ways to promote crop production while minimizing environmental degradation is of upmost importance. Many studies in natural ecosystems show positive effects of plant diversity on ecosystem functioning, yet far less is known regarding whether this is true in agroecosystems with diverse crop rotations. Here we assessed the impact of crop diversification on soil microbial diversity, yield, and soil multifunctionality, or the capacity of soils to simultaneously provide multiple ecosystem functions and services, in 155 cereal fields across a North-South European gradient. Overall, we found little influence of crop diversity on microbial diversity, multifunctionality , or yield. However, these parameters were positively influenced by the proportion of time with crop cover. Our results indicate that increasing the proportion of time with crop cover can enhance multifunctionality and yield simultaneously, while also providing habitat for soil microbes, a win-win situation towards sustainable agricultural intensification.