IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v14y2024i7p1149-d1435591.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Intercropping Systems: An Opportunity for Environment Conservation within Nut Production

Author

Listed:
  • Bruna Moreira

    (Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Braganca, Portugal
    Laboratório Associado para a Sustentabilidade e Tecnologia em Regiões de Montanha (SusTEC), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Braganca, Portugal
    Nutrition and Bromatology Group, Department of Analytical Chemistry and Food Science, Instituto de Agroecoloxía e Alimentación (IAA)–CITEXVI, Universidade de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain)

  • Alexandre Gonçalves

    (MORE—Collaborative Laboratory Mountains of Research, Brigantia Ecopark, 5300-358 Braganca, Portugal)

  • Luís Pinto

    (MORE—Collaborative Laboratory Mountains of Research, Brigantia Ecopark, 5300-358 Braganca, Portugal)

  • Miguel A. Prieto

    (Nutrition and Bromatology Group, Department of Analytical Chemistry and Food Science, Instituto de Agroecoloxía e Alimentación (IAA)–CITEXVI, Universidade de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain)

  • Márcio Carocho

    (Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Braganca, Portugal
    Laboratório Associado para a Sustentabilidade e Tecnologia em Regiões de Montanha (SusTEC), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Braganca, Portugal)

  • Cristina Caleja

    (Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Braganca, Portugal
    Laboratório Associado para a Sustentabilidade e Tecnologia em Regiões de Montanha (SusTEC), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Braganca, Portugal)

  • Lillian Barros

    (Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Braganca, Portugal
    Laboratório Associado para a Sustentabilidade e Tecnologia em Regiões de Montanha (SusTEC), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Braganca, Portugal)

Abstract

Global population growth and intensive agriculture have both contributed negatively to the environment. As a result, there is increasing interest in the use of sustainable alternatives is increasing to promote better use of natural resources and create an equilibrium between agriculture and the environment. Intercropping, the simultaneous cultivation of multiple crops, aims to optimize land use economically while enhancing biodiversity through plant–microorganism interactions, thereby boosting crop productivity. This practice has particularly benefited nut production by combining the nutrient-sequestering capacity of trees with continuous annual crop production, improving soil nutrient and water utilization. Intercropping systems not only enhance nut yield and quality but also offer economic advantages to farmers. This review synthesized the existing literature with the aim of highlighting not only the positive aspects that intercropping brings to the production of nuts, but also the challenges and limitations faced in different regions when it comes to agricultural production.

Suggested Citation

  • Bruna Moreira & Alexandre Gonçalves & Luís Pinto & Miguel A. Prieto & Márcio Carocho & Cristina Caleja & Lillian Barros, 2024. "Intercropping Systems: An Opportunity for Environment Conservation within Nut Production," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-23, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:7:p:1149-:d:1435591
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/7/1149/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/7/1149/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ilaria Marotti & Anne Whittaker & Reyhan Bahtiyarca Bağdat & Pervin Ari Akin & Namuk Ergün & Giovanni Dinelli, 2023. "Intercropping Perennial Fruit Trees and Annual Field Crops with Aromatic and Medicinal Plants (MAPs) in the Mediterranean Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-23, August.
    2. Xinping Chen & Zhenling Cui & Mingsheng Fan & Peter Vitousek & Ming Zhao & Wenqi Ma & Zhenlin Wang & Weijian Zhang & Xiaoyuan Yan & Jianchang Yang & Xiping Deng & Qiang Gao & Qiang Zhang & Shiwei Guo , 2014. "Producing more grain with lower environmental costs," Nature, Nature, vol. 514(7523), pages 486-489, October.
    3. Mathew T. Baker & Peng Lu & Jean A. Parrella & Holli R. Leggette, 2022. "Consumer Acceptance toward Functional Foods: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-40, January.
    4. Madembo, Connie & Mhlanga, Blessing & Thierfelder, Christian, 2020. "Productivity or stability? Exploring maize-legume intercropping strategies for smallholder Conservation Agriculture farmers in Zimbabwe," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    5. Dowling, Alyce & Roberts, Penny & Doolette, Ashlea & Zhou, Yi & Denton, Matthew D., 2023. "Oilseed-legume intercropping is productive and profitable in low input scenarios," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zanele Adams & Albert Thembinkosi Modi & Simon Kamande Kuria, 2025. "Multidimensional Perspective of Sustainable Agroecosystems and the Impact on Crop Production: A Review," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-26, March.
    2. Efstratios Loizou & Konstantinos Spinthiropoulos & Stavros Kalogiannidis & Fotios Chatzitheodoridis & Dimitrios Kalfas & George Tzilantonis, 2025. "Enhancing Climate Resilience and Food Security in Greece Through Agricultural Biodiversity," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-24, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Siyu Zhang & Zhe Ji & Wu Jiao & Chengbo Shen & Yaojun Qin & Yunzhi Huang & Menghan Huang & Shuming Kang & Xuan Liu & Shunqi Li & Zulong Mo & Ying Yu & Bingyu Jiang & Yanan Tian & Longfei Wang & Qingxi, 2025. "Natural variation of OsWRKY23 drives difference in nitrate use efficiency between indica and japonica rice," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Glory Esohe Okpiaifo & Bertille Dormoy-Smith & Bachir Kassas & Zhifeng Gao, 2023. "Perception and demand for healthy snacks/beverages among US consumers vary by product, health benefit, and color," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(6), pages 1-23, June.
    3. Paula Moutinho & In?s Andrade & Angela Macedo, 2022. "Functional food consumption by Portuguese university community: Knowledge, barriers and motivators," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 24(2), pages 1-29.
    4. Zhao, Zhengxin & Li, Zongyang & Li, Yao & Yu, Lianyu & Gu, Xiaobo & Cai, Huanjie, 2024. "Supplementary irrigation and reduced nitrogen application improve the productivity, water and nitrogen use efficiency of maize-soybean intercropping system in the semi-humid drought-prone region of Ch," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    5. Zhao, Rongqin & Liu, Ying & Tian, Mengmeng & Ding, Minglei & Cao, Lianhai & Zhang, Zhanping & Chuai, Xiaowei & Xiao, Liangang & Yao, Lunguang, 2018. "Impacts of water and land resources exploitation on agricultural carbon emissions: The water-land-energy-carbon nexus," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 480-492.
    6. Wang, Linlin & Li, Lingling & Xie, Junhong & Luo, Zhuzhu & Sumera, Anwar & Zechariah, Effah & Fudjoe, Setor Kwami & Palta, Jairo A. & Chen, Yinglong, 2022. "Does plastic mulching reduce water footprint in field crops in China? A meta-analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    7. Wang, Xiaolong & Chen, Yuanquan & Sui, Peng & Yan, Peng & Yang, Xiaolei & Gao, Wangsheng, 2017. "Preliminary analysis on economic and environmental consequences of grain production on different farm sizes in North China Plain," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 181-189.
    8. Katarzyna Antosik & Elżbieta Krzęcio-Nieczyporuk & Halina Sieczkowska & Andrzej Zybert & Krystian Tarczyński, 2023. "The Use of Chosen Physicochemical Indicators for Estimation of Pork Meat Quality," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-13, August.
    9. Xin, Wang & Yanping, Song & Tan, Li, 2021. "Small farmer's planting confidence and willingness to pay for leguminous green fertilizer: environmental attributes perspective," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 25(01), August.
    10. Liu, Lianhua & Ouyang, Wei & Wang, Yidi & Lian, Zhongmin & Pan, Junting & Liu, Hongbin & Chen, Jingrui & Niu, Shiwei, 2023. "Paddy water managements for diffuse nitrogen and phosphorus pollution control in China: A comprehensive review and emerging prospects," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    11. Feifei Pan & Sha Pan & Jiao Tang & Jingping Yuan & Huaixia Zhang & Bihua Chen, 2022. "Fertilization Practices: Optimization in Greenhouse Vegetable Cultivation with Different Planting Years," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-17, June.
    12. Kinyua, M.W. & Kihara, J. & Bekunda, M. & Bolo, P. & Mairura, F.S. & Fischer, G. & Mucheru-Muna, M.W., 2023. "Agronomic and economic performance of legume-legume and cereal-legume intercropping systems in Northern Tanzania," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    13. Diaz-Gonzalez, Freddy A. & Vuelvas, Jose. & Vallejo, Victoria E. & Patino, D., 2023. "Fertilization rate optimization model for potato crops to maximize yield while reducing polluting nitrogen emissions," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 485(C).
    14. Raymond Mugandani & Liboster Mwadzingeni & Paramu Mafongoya, 2021. "Contribution of Conservation Agriculture to Soil Security," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-11, September.
    15. Rushan Chai & Lidong Huang & Lingling Li & Gerty Gielen & Hailong Wang & Yongsong Zhang, 2016. "Degradation of Tetracyclines in Pig Manure by Composting with Rice Straw," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-9, February.
    16. Herdis Herdiansyah & Ernoiz Antriyandarti & Amrina Rosyada & Nor Isnaeni Dwi Arista & Tri Edhi Budhi Soesilo & Ninin Ernawati, 2023. "Evaluation of Conventional and Mechanization Methods towards Precision Agriculture in Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-21, June.
    17. Tan, Lili & Feng, Puyu & Li, Baoguo & Huang, Feng & Liu, De Li & Ren, Pinpin & Liu, Haipeng & Srinivasan, Raghavan & Chen, Yong, 2022. "Climate change impacts on crop water productivity and net groundwater use under a double-cropping system with intensive irrigation in the Haihe River Basin, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    18. Bing Gao & Wei Huang & Xiaobo Xue & Yuanchao Hu & Yunfeng Huang & Lan Wang & Shengping Ding & Shenghui Cui, 2019. "Comprehensive Environmental Assessment of Potato as Staple Food Policy in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-19, July.
    19. Zhang, Daojun & Yang, Wanjing & Kang, Dingrong & Zhang, Han, 2023. "Spatial-temporal characteristics and policy implication for non-grain production of cultivated land in Guanzhong Region," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    20. Bo Sun & Yongming Luo & Dianlin Yang & Jingsong Yang & Yuguo Zhao & Jiabao Zhang, 2023. "Coordinative Management of Soil Resources and Agricultural Farmland Environment for Food Security and Sustainable Development in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-16, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:7:p:1149-:d:1435591. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.