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The patterns of how yield gaps change can suggest likely future outcomes for crop growth. This study conducts a spatial and temporal analysis of yield gaps for ten major crops from 1975 to 2010 and identifies regions where crops are experiencing ‘ceiling pressure’, signalling opportunities to improve future food security.
A natural pathway in rice and in seven other major crop species degrades 57–89% of accumulated methylmercury and releases Hg into the air. The MeHg demethylation within rice mitigates Hg flux into human food webs, diminishing human cognitive damage and generating global economic benefits of US$30.7–84.2 billion.
Protein production and consumption changes are needed to support healthy and sustainable food transformations. This systematic review explores narratives, gaps in the literature and paths forwards by focusing on the protein shift as a transition process in high-income countries.
This study analyses the synergistic effects of reductions in ozone and aerosols on China’s maize, rice and wheat yields, showing that meeting air quality targets would help the country to achieve grain self-sufficiency.
Effective solutions for food systems transformation must be designed in a participatory way. This study illustrates the application of an integrated assessment framework to explore stakeholder-driven scenarios towards climate-smart nutrition security in Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.
While nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycles have been investigated separately, the links between them are key for sustainable food systems. Combining material flow and ecological network analysis, this study examines the resilience of China’s N–P-coupled cycling network over time under different scenarios.
Optimizing agricultural management practices has the potential to support sustainable agricultural intensification. This study presents a hybrid data-model integration approach that enables spatiotemporal optimization of agricultural management practices to maximize crop yield while reducing resource use and greenhouse gas emissions.