{Tool} Multi-species swards in crop rotations: building climate resilience. Creator(s): van Eekeren, Nick; Dietemann, Lauren and Schackleton, Jane. Issuing Organisation(s): FiBL - Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, LBI - Louis Bolk Instituut. (2026)
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Summary
This practical factsheet provides European organic farmers with evidence-based guidance on integrating multi-species swards into crop rotations as a climate adaptation strategy. It covers the benefits of combining grasses, legumes, and herbs in temporary grasslands, including enhanced drought resilience, improved soil fertility, weed suppression, and superior livestock nutrition. The material includes detailed species selection tables with climate-specific recommendations, practical advice on sowing timing and mixture design for different European regions, establishment and management guidelines, and strategies for ley termination and nitrogen management for subsequent crops.
| EPrint Type: | Practice tool |
|---|---|
| Teaser: | Build climate resilience and improve soil quality by integrating diverse grass-legume-herb mixtures into your organic crop rotation. |
| What problem does the tool address?: | This factsheet addresses the growing challenge of climate change impacts on forage production and farming resilience. Specifically, it tackles the problems of increasingly frequent and extreme summer droughts alternating with intense rainfall, which jeopardize livestock feed security and undermine the sustainability of animal husbandry systems. Additionally, it addresses soil quality decline after prolonged arable use, escalating weed and pest pressure in continuous cropping systems, and reduced nitrogen availability. Farmers need practical, farm-scale strategies to build climate resilience while maintaining productive, economically viable organic farming systems. |
| What solution does the tool offer?: | The factsheet offers a comprehensive, practical guide to integrating multi-species swards—diverse mixtures of grasses, legumes, and herbs—into the ley phase of organic crop rotations. It provides detailed, climate-adapted recommendations including: species selection tables with drought and waterlogging tolerance ratings for different European climates; specific guidance on sowing timing, mixture design, and seed rates; establishment and management practices tailored to Northern European and Mediterranean conditions; and strategies for termination and nitrogen management. The solution emphasizes building resilience through functional diversity while delivering multiple co-benefits: improved soil quality, reduced weed pressure, enhanced livestock nutrition, drought tolerance, reduced nitrate leaching, and support for on-farm biodiversity. |
| Country: | Netherlands, Switzerland |
| Type of Practice Tool: | Leaflets & guidelines |
| Keywords: | climate change adaptation, resilience, grassland management, grasses, crop rotation, forage |
| Agrovoc keywords: | Language Value URI English climate change adaptation http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1374567058134 English grassland management http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_3364 English grasses http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_3362 English resilience http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1374480530924 English crop rotation http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_6662 English forage http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_36108 |
| Subjects: | Crop husbandry > Production systems > Pasture and forage crops |
| Research affiliation: | European Union > Horizon Europe > OrganicClimateNET > created in project Netherlands > Louis Bolk Institute Switzerland > FiBL - Research Institute of Organic Agriculture Switzerland > Crops > Grassland European Union > Organic Farm Knowledge |
| Horizon Europe or H2020 Grant Agreement Number: | 101136880 |
| Related Links: | https://organic-farmknowledge.org/tool/57226, https://organic-farmknowledge.org/tool/44457, https://organic-farmknowledge.org/tool/55491, https://organic-farmknowledge.org/tool/44457, https://organic-farmknowledge.org/tool/30994, https://organic-farmknowledge.org/tool/41887, https://organic-farmknowledge.org/tool/55988 |
| Project ID: | ofk |
| Deposited By: | Dietemann, Lauren |
| ID Code: | 57226 |
| Deposited On: | 02 Apr 2026 10:08 |
| Last Modified: | 04 May 2026 08:19 |
| Document Language: | English |
| Status: | Published |
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