Five conservation tillage treatments were applied to an alternating rotation of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) within neighboring clay and clay loam fields in the United Kingdom over three cropping seasons (2013 to 2016) with the objective of determining how the treatments affect soil physical characteristics, weed control, and crop yields. The conservation tillage systems included a relatively disruptive “Farm System” with cultivation to a depth of 200 mm, three intermediate treatments, and a “Low Disruption” treatment with cultivation to a depth of 25 to 100 mm. The disruptive Farm System showed the greatest increase in soil porosity immediately after tillage and resulted in higher wheat and oilseed rape plant counts than the other treatments. Each tillage treatment resulted in mean soil penetration resistances below 2.5 MPa, although a tillage treatment with tine depth to width ratio of 7.5:1 resulted in a higher resistance (2.14 MPa) at 150 to 200 mm than three other treatments (1.36 to 1.67 MPa) in year 1. Despite the above differences, the five tillage systems resulted in statistically similar wheat and oilseed rape yields, except when there was a delay in applying one treatment to the oilseed rape in year 3. In the first two years, the yields of wheat in the clay (9.7 to 10.6 t ha⁻¹) and the clay loam field (11.0 to 11.6 t ha⁻¹) were similar to yields on other commercial farms. However, in year 3, the wheat yield on the clay soil declined to 8.7 to 9.5 t ha⁻¹. Some of this is a result of low levels of solar radiation in 2016, but the levels of blackgrass (Alopecurus myosuroides Huds.) increased from 8.2% to 16.0%. There was no statistically significant difference between the capacity of the conservation till-age treatments to control blackgrass on the clay soil, indicating that other measures are needed to control this competitive weed.

Agroforestry systems have been compared to agricultural and forestry alternatives, providing a land-use solution for additional environmental benefits while maintaining similar levels of productivity. However, there is scarce research assessing such patterns across a pan-European scale using a common methodology. This study aims to improve our understanding of the role of trees in three different regulating ecosystem services—(1) soil erosion, (2) nitrate leaching and (3) carbon sequestration—in traditional and innovative agroforestry systems in Europe through a consistent modeling approach. The systems’ assessment spans environmentally from the Mediterranean environmental region in Portugal to the Continental environmental region in Switzerland and Germany to the Atlantic environmental region in the United Kingdom. Modeled tree densities were compared in the different land-use alternatives, ranging from zero (agriculture with only crops or pasture) to forestry (only trees). The methodology included the use of a biophysical model (Yield-SAFE) where the quantification of the environmental benefits was integrated. Results show a consistent improvement of regulating ecosystem services can be expected when introducing trees in the farming landscapes in different environmental regions in Europe. For all the systems, the forestry alternatives presented the best results in terms of a decrease in soil erosion of 51% (±29), a decrease of nearly all the nitrate leaching (98% ± 1) and an increase in the carbon sequestration of up to 238 Mg C ha⁻¹ (±140). However, these alternatives are limited in the variety of food, energy and/or materials provided. On the other hand, from an arable or pure-pasture alternative starting point, an increase in agroforestry tree density could also be associated with a decrease in soil erosion of up to 25% (±17), a decrease in nitrates leached of up to 52% (±34) and an increase in the carbon sequestered of 163 Mg C ha⁻¹ (±128) while at the same time ensuring the same levels of biomass growth and an increase in product diversification.

Climate change and the withdrawal of several classes of agrochemicals from use are intensifying the challenges faced by food producers in controlling pests in crop systems. Integrated pest management (IPM), which uses a combination of pest control approaches, is therefore a focus in international initiatives to improve the resilience of food production. Integrating the greater use of trees and shrubs on farms within IPM frameworks offers a biodiversity‐positive contribution to crop protection. For example, trees can modulate the prevalence and impacts of agricultural pests and their natural antagonists through direct and indirect interactions. The beneficial impact of farmland trees and shrubs on pest management in arable or grassland fields can be enhanced from an analysis of variables such as tree species and their spatial distribution on farms, insect‐plant dynamics, population behaviours and soil management practices. The aim of this study is to synthesise existing knowledge and to assess the benefits and trade‐offs between farmland trees and IPM strategies, building on gaps in knowledge identified by a stakeholder survey. Through this targeted review, we delineate the future evidence required to define and quantify the advantages that farmland trees offer as an element of IPM strategies. Practical implication. The development of regional biodiversity monitoring tools, which integrate landscape features such as trees, shows promise for shaping national policies to increase the adoption of IPM. There is a demand for user‐friendly on‐farm tools, adaptable to changing crop and pest priorities, that can support the alignment of the management of farm trees with IPM. However, basic and applied biological and ecological research are needed to inform and validate these decision‐support tools and the capability to inform landscape‐scale models.