Crop Rotation Effects on Cropping System Resiliency.

One of the key management strategies to increase cropping system resiliency to impending climatic change is agroecosystem diversity, particularly crop rotation diversity.  Results of long-term rotation trials conducted in Ontario Canada, demonstrate that increasing crop rotation diversity is associated with improved soil quality, greater resilience and yield stability when subjected to extreme weather conditions, increased precipitation efficiency and greater nitrogen use efficiency. Improvements in nitrogen use efficiency occur even when forage legumes are not included as part of the rotation. These trials demonstrate that crop diversification strategies increase the probability of harnessing favorable growing conditions while decreasing the risk of crop failure.  While there is growing evidence for the resiliency benefits of crop rotation diversity, the reality is that agroecosystem diversity has been decreasing throughout the northern Corn Belt.   Climate change represents a “driver” that may alter grower perception of crop rotation benefits in the future.  In addition to climate change, there are other economic, environmental and social “drivers” emerging that could motivate producers to increase crop rotation diversity by adding winter wheat, a forage, a short cycle perennial biomass crop, or some other crop to the rotation.