About EGF symposium

The sustainability of agroecosystems is a significant pathway for the availability of healthy and nutritious humans food. However, achieving and maintaining this feasible status in agro-ecosystems is not so easy, as many factors and processes intersect at the same time. As stated in the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies, there is a need to transform management for increasing carbon capture and storage, regulate and reduce GHG emissions while also enhancing biodiversity. Furthermore, it remains important to avoid declining other ecosystem services related to plant production, nutrient cycling in various cropping systems and to broaden the range of production value chains in circular bioeconomy. Despite new scientific knowledge and evolving farming practices, we have considerable challenges for the future. Ley-farming in cropping systems is a substantial element of agroecosystems as they provide multiple and diverse ecological services. Stockless farming is gradually growing in many countries, hence the contribution of ley-farming to ecosystem services for improving sustainability of cropping systems is becoming increasingly important in all different farming systems (conventional, integrated, organic, conservation, carbon, climate smart or regenerative).

The research community need to share and discuss the new knowledge, identify emerging issues, and offer innovative solutions to explore the potential economic and environmental benefits of ley-farming in short and long-term in the face of climate variability, resilience agroecosystems, and to improve our understanding of the role of ley -farming in cropping and farming systems.