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Data and code for "Functionally rich crop rotations increase calorie and macronutrient outputs across Europe"

https://doi.org/10.5878/5q25-8572
This repository contains the data and scripts underlining the article Vico et al. "Functionally rich crop rotations increase calorie and macronutrient outputs across Europe", Nature Food, 2026. For further information see the publication, https://www.nature.com/natfoodOpens in a new tab. We used data of calorie and macronutrient (carbohydrate, protein, and fat) outputs from 16 long term experiments in Europe to ascertain how they are affected by crop rotational diversity, as measured by functional richness. This repository includes a core dataset (macronutrients_wholerot.csv), comprising whole rotation calorie and macronutrient outputs for each year, rotation, replicate/other treatment for 13 of the 16 sites used in the analyses. We do not have permission to share data at a similar level of detail for the remaining three sites: for these, we provide whole rotation calorie and macronutrient outputs for each year and rotation, averaged over the different replicates/other treatments, along with the standard deviation and number of observations included in the averaging (macronutreints_wholerotaggr.csv). Information on the experiment location, period covered, rotations included and other treatments is available Table S1 in the Supplementary Information to Vico et al. Calorie and macronutrient outputs for each year are the sum of those provided by all the crops in the rotation, weighed based on the rotation length. In other words, these calorie and macronutrient outputs are those produced by a one ha farm, where all the crops in the rotation are grown on areas proportional to their frequency in the rotation. For each crop, we selected a common retail product (e.g., flour for each cereal) and used its nutritional value to transform the observed marketable yield into calorie and macronutrient outputs. We considered three scenarios of use for forage crops - for milk, beef or biofuel production. As a result, the dataset contains information on the site (name, code) and, for each year, group and rotation, information on the rotation (sequence of crops, functional richness, inclusion of cereals, legumes, leys and/or broadleaves, fertilization regime), and outputs in calories (Gcal/ha/yr) and macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats; kg/ha/yr) when forage crops are used for milk (M), beef (B) or biofuel (F) production. Primary crop yield data can be made available upon reasonable requests and for specific purposes. We include also the R code for analyzing the calorie and macronutrient outputs for each year, rotation and replicate/other treatment and produce the results incorporated in the article.
Download data and documentation (6 files / 2.85 MiB)

Data files

  • macronutrients_wholerot.csv
    2.43 MiB
  • macronutrients_wholerotaggr.csv
    370.35 KiB
  • Vico_et_al_R_code_macronutrients.Rmd
    48.14 KiB

Documentation files

  • description_macronutrients_wholerot.txt
    3.77 KiB
  • description_macronutrients_wholerotaggr.txt
    7.4 KiB
  • README.txt
    3.9 KiB

Citation and access

Data access level:

Creator/​Principal investigator(s):

Research principal:

Principal's reference number:

  • SLU.ekol.2025.4.2.IÄ-8

Data contains personal data:

No

Citation:

License:

Language:

Method and outcome

Unit of analysis:

Population:

16 long-term experiments are included in the study, representative of arable crops in Europe and covering a wide range of pedoclimatic conditions.

Study design:

  • Field trial
  • Experimental study

Description of study design:

We identified the candidate long-term experiments via referral from colleagues and the scientific literature, and contacted the person(s) appearing as currently responsible for the experiment. The long-term experiments included satisfy five criteria (at least 10 years of data and two rotations, cereal in all rotations, all crops grown every year and diversity not confounded with other treatments; for details, see Methods in Vico et al. Nature Food). We checked whether a long term experiment met such criteria with the person(s) currently responsible for of each long-term experiment. For each long-term experiment, we used all the available data from rotations meeting the criteria. We included all the available data available in terms of years, rotations including cereals, and replicates. However, if the rotations were altered during the experiment, we retained only the data relative to the longest period with unchanged rotations. For one site (Säby_LTE), we did not consider the rotations with residue burning. Within each experiment, the rotations were set up according to a randomized design. The number of replicates depended on the long term experiments, with 8 of them not replicated. Crop yields for each rotation, year, replicate/other treatment were aggregated to whole rotation outputs of calories, carbohydrates, proteins and fats, assuming common retail products for each crops, and considering three scenarios of use of forage crops.

Description of sampling:

The analyses rely on crop yield collated in randomly selected areas within each plot and then data aggregated by site, crop rotation, replicate/other treatment and year, transforming marketable yields in calorie and macronutrient outputs, assuming common retail products for each crop. The crop yield data had been collected at each long-term experiment, by local personell and following the local protocol.

Time period(s) investigated:

Variables:

12

Data format/​data structure:

Data collection Compilation/Synthesis

Mode of collection:

Compilation/Synthesis

Description of the mode of collection:

Crop yield data and basic management information were provided by the contact person(s) currently responsible for the long-term experiment. The data were homogenized in format and combined in a single dataset of yields per site, crop, year, treatment(s). Yield data were later transformed in calorie and macronutrient outputs at aggregated per site, year, and treatment(s).

Data collector:

Source of the data:

  • Research data

Temporal resolution:

1 year

Geographic coverage

Geographic location:

Geographic description:

Data were originally collected in 16 long-term experiments across Europe

Administrative information

Responsible department/​unit:

Department of Ecology

Contributor(s):

  • Alessio Costa - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
  • Monique E Smith - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
  • Timothy Bowles - University of California, Berkeley
  • Amelie CM Gaudin - University of California, Davis
  • Christine A Watson - Scotland's Rural College
  • Guido Baldoni - University of Bologna
  • Antonio Berti - University of Padua
  • Andrzej Blecharczyk - University of Life Sciences in Poznań
  • Krzysztof Jonczyk - Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation - State Research Institute
  • Martina Mazzon - University of Bologna
  • Claudio Marzadori - University of Bologna
  • Francesco Morari - University of Padua
  • Lorenzo Negri - University of Bologna
  • Andrea Onofri - University of Perugia
  • José Luis Tenorio Pasamón - Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, INIA-CSIC
  • Boel Sandström - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
  • Inés Santín-Montanyá - Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, INIA-CSIC
  • Zuzanna Sawinska - University of Life Sciences in Poznań
  • Jarosław Stalenga - Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation - State Research Institute
  • Francesco Tei - University of Perugia
  • Cairistiona FE Topp - Scotland's Rural College
  • Robin L Walker - Scotland's Rural College
  • Riccardo Bommarco - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Commissioning organisation:

Funding

Funding agency:

Award number:

2018-02872

Funding agency:

Award number:

2022-00928

Funding agency:

Funding information:

Supported the long-term experiments managed by SRUC

Funding agency:

Funding information:

Supported the long-term experiments managed by SLU

Funding agency:

Award number:

PID2023-150863OR-100

Funding agency:

  • Polish Ministry of Education and Science

Funding information:

Supported the Brody/Poznan University of Life Sciences long-term experiments

Funding agency:

  • Lawes Agricultural Trust and Rothamsted Research

Funding information:

Supported the Broadbalk experiment and dissemination of data

Funding agency:

  • UK BBSRC Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

Award number:

BBS/E/C/000J0300

Funding information:

Supported the Rothamsted Long-term Experiments National Capability (LTE-NC), of which Broadbalk is part

Topic and keywords

Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2025:

Keywords:

Publications

Citation:

Vico G, Costa A, Smith ME, Bowles T, Gaudin ACM, Watson CA, Baldoni G, Berti A, Blecharczyk A, Jonczyk K, Mazzon M, Marzadori C, Morari F, Onofri A, Tenorio Pasamón JT, Sandström B, Santín-Montanyá I, Sawinska Z, Stalenga J, Tei F, Topp CFE, Walker RL, Bommarco R (2026), Functionally rich crop rotations increase calorie and macronutrient outputs across Europe, Nature Food

Contact

SLU Arkivarkiv@slu.seOpens in a new tab

Metadata

Version 1
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Published: