Thomas Cherico Wanger

Abstract Sustainable agriculture in the 21st century requires the production of sufficient food, while reducing environmental impacts and safeguarding human livelihoods. Many studies have confirmed agricultural diversification with practices such as intercropping, organic farming, and soil inoculations, as suitable pathways to achieve these goals, but the long-term viability of socioeconomic and ecological benefits is uncertain.

Abstract Effective environmental policies for the tropics depend on accurate, representative scientific data. However, there is strong evidence from particular disciplines and regions that existing research is patchily distributed. Here, we show that poor representation of sampling and citation in some biomes and across key environmental gradients from all disciplines for the entire tropics may lead to flawed scientific paradigms and inappropriate policy prescriptions.

Abstract Increasing agricultural yields through crop diversification may help achieve food and nutrition security. However, the benefits of a transition from monoculture to crop rotation may be reduced if trade-offs exist between yields, dietary energy, nutrients, and revenue.