Predicting intercrop competition, facilitation, and productivity from simple functional traits

MacLaren, Chloe

, Waswa, W., Aliyu, K. T., Claessens, L., Mead, Andrew, Schob, C., Vanlauwe, B. and Storkey, Jonathan

(2023) Predicting intercrop competition, facilitation, and productivity from simple functional traits. Field Crops Research, 297 (1 June). p. 108926. 10.1016/j.fcr.2023.108926

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Context Recent meta-analyses demonstrate that intercropping can increase the land use efficiency of crop production by 20–30 % on average, indicating a strong potential contribution to sustainable intensification. However, there is substantial variability around this average: individual studies range from half to double the land productivity of monocrops. Legume-cereal intercrops and intercrops with high temporal niche separation tend to be more productive than the average, but these two combination types are not always suitable. There is a need to explore other possibilities to achieve productive intercrops.

Item Type	Article
Open Access	Gold
Additional information	This study was part of the ‘GLTEN-Africa’ project (BB/R020663/1) funded by the Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF) programme of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
Keywords	Intercropping, Facilitation, Complementarity, Competition, Productivity, Functional traits
Project	GLTEN Africa: Cropping system diversity, a cornerstone of sustainable intensification.
Date Deposited	05 Dec 2025 10:37
Last Modified	14 Jan 2026 10:36