The search for approaches to a holistic sustainable agriculture requires the development of new cropping systems that provide additional ecosystem services beyond biomass supply for food, feed, material, and energy use. The reduction of chemical synthetic plant protection products is a key instrument to protect vulnerable natural resources such as groundwater and biodiversity. Together with an optimal use of mineral fertilizer, agroecological practices, and precision agriculture technologies, a complete elimination of chemical synthetic plant protection in mineral-ecological cropping systems (MECSs) may not only improve the environmental performance of agroecosystems, but also ensure their yield performance. Therefore, the development of MECSs aims to improve the overall ecosystem services of agricultural landscapes by (i) improving the provision of regulating ecosystem services compared to conventional cropping systems and (ii) improving the supply of provisioning ecosystem services compared to organic cropping systems. In the present review, all relevant research levels and aspects of this new farming concept are outlined and discussed based on a comprehensive literature review and the ongoing research project “Agriculture 4.0 without Chemical-Synthetic Plant Protection”.

Vegetated strips are in the focus of many stakeholders of agroecosystems and are part of several agri‐environmental schemes in Germany. Stakeholders have different expectations and demands on the functionality and services of vegetated strips. In our review, we focused on biodiversity and the ecosystem services pollination, conservation biocontrol, landscape aesthetics, buffer function, and biomass production and their associated functions. We assessed factors that are crucial to support service provision and reviewed trade‐offs between the ecosystem (dis)services. We identified five characteristics that are important for the provision of the assessed ecosystem services: age of vegetated strips, flower cover, size or width of the strip, management, and type of adjacent habitat. We conclude that adjusting the target of subsidies with respect to the analyzed factors for biodiversity can help to promote the multifunctionality of vegetated strips in arable farming.

Genome editing (GE) is gaining increasing importance in plant breeding, since it provides opportunities to develop improved crops with high precision and speed. However, little is known about the socioeconomic impact of genome editing on agricultural value chains. This qualitative study analyzes how genome-edited crops could affect agriculture value chains. Based on the hypothetical case of producing and processing fungal-resistant and coeliac-safe wheat in Germany, we conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with associations and companies operating in the value chains of wheat. A value chain analysis and qualitative content analysis were combined to assess the costs and benefits of the crops studied along the value chains of wheat. The results show that the use of fungal-resistant and coeliac-safe wheat can provide benefits at each step of the value chains. Fungal-resistant wheat benefits actors by reducing the problems and costs resulting from fungal-diseases and mycotoxins. Coeliac-safe wheat benefits actors by producing high value-added products, which can be safely consumed by patients suffering from coeliac disease. However, the results also show that low acceptance of GE by society and food retailers poses a significant barrier for the use of genome-edited crops in agricultural value chains.

Monitoring of insect pests and aerial spraying of insecticides have proven to be effective in protecting forests against needle-feeding insect pests. However, the literature on the economic viability of insect monitoring and aerial spraying of insecticides is scant. This research conducts a cost–benefit analysis of monitoring insect pests and use of insecticides for 5600 ha of managed pine forests. The case studied is the mass outbreak of the pine tree lappet moth (Dendrolimus pini L.) in Brandenburg (Germany) in 2014. Costs were estimated based on information from standardized questionnaires and semi-structured expert interviews. Benefits were analyzed by comparing the loss of revenue due to D. pini with the costs of insect monitoring and insecticide spraying in two scenarios of pine production (with protection vs. without protection). The results show that monitoring D. pini and aerial spraying of insecticides are economically beneficial to forest owners. The total net present value (NPV) of protection was about EUR 1965 ha⁻¹ at a discount rate of 0% and the benefit–cost ratio (BCR) was about 22.14. NPVs and BCRs per hectare were highest for protecting stands with high site index and stands in the age class of 20–39 years. Sensitivity analyses revealed that NPV results are more sensitive to changes in timber prices than to changes in protection costs. The authors conclude that monitoring insect pests and aerial spraying of insecticides are economically viable options to protect forests against needle-feeding insect pests.