Crop diversity effects on temporal agricultural production stability across European regions

Abstract Stabilizing agricultural production is fundamental to food security. At the national level, increasing effective diversity of cultivated crops has been found increase temporal stability, i.e., year-to-year stability total caloric all combined. Here, we specifically investigated these effects at regional level for European Union and tested effect crop in relation inputs, soil properties, climate instability, time on caloric, protein, fat as hypothesized that context dependent. We further relationships specific countries. greater was consistently associated with an particularly regions large areas equipped irrigation low type diversity. For instance, Spain Italy, showed strongest positive among predictors, while stabilizing nitrogen use substantially higher. In Germany, diversity-stability relationship weak, suggesting react similarly climatic, economic, political factors or are grown same periods. With this study, substantiate previous findings stabilizes extend regard protein fat. The results elucidate key drivers enhance different countries regions, which importance a comparably productive region like Europe.