Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2022-300
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2022-300
10 Oct 2022
 | 10 Oct 2022
Status: a revised version of this preprint was accepted for the journal ESSD and is expected to appear here in due course.

The first map of dominant crop sequences in the European Union over 2012–2018

Rémy Ballot, Nicolas Guilpart, and Marie-Hélène Jeuffroy

Abstract. Crop diversification is considered as an important linchpin of the agroecological transition, whereas current dominant cropping systems are known to rely only on a few crops species – like cereals in the European Union (EU). To assess the benefits of crop diversification at large scale, an accurate description of current crop sequences is required as a baseline. However, such a description is lacking at the scale of the EU. Here, we developed the first map of dominant crop sequences in the EU for the period 2012–2018. We used the LUCAS dataset that provides temporally-incomplete land cover information from a stable grid of points covering the whole EU. Eight crop sequence types were identified using hierarchical clustering implemented on LUCAS data, and mapped over EU. We show, in France, that the relative importance of these eight crop sequence types (as estimated from LUCAS data) was highly consistent with those derived from an almost spatially-exhaustive temporally-complete national dataset (the French Land Parcel Identification System) for the same period, thus validating the method and the typology for this country. Land use (i.e. crop production area) derived from our map of dominant crop sequences was also highly consistent with land use reported by official statistics, both at national and EU levels, validating the approach at the EU-scale. This first map of dominant crop sequences in the EU should be useful for future studies dealing with agricultural issues that are sensitive to crop rotations. The map of dominant crop sequences types in the EU derived from our work is available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7016986 (Ballot et al., 2022).

Rémy Ballot et al.

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on essd-2022-300', Anonymous Referee #1, 11 Nov 2022
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Rémy Ballot, 27 Feb 2023
  • RC2: 'Comment on essd-2022-300', Anonymous Referee #2, 02 Feb 2023
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Rémy Ballot, 27 Feb 2023

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on essd-2022-300', Anonymous Referee #1, 11 Nov 2022
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Rémy Ballot, 27 Feb 2023
  • RC2: 'Comment on essd-2022-300', Anonymous Referee #2, 02 Feb 2023
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Rémy Ballot, 27 Feb 2023

Rémy Ballot et al.

Data sets

Harmonised LUCAS database classified by crop sequence type Rémy Ballot, Nicolas Guilpart, Marie-Hélène Jeuffroy https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7016986

Model code and software

Code to classify harmonised LUCAS database by crop sequence type Rémy Ballot, Nicolas Guilpart https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7018283

Rémy Ballot et al.

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Short summary
Assessing the benefits of crop diversification – a pillar of the agroecological transition – on a large scale requires a description of current crop sequences as a baseline, which is lacking at the scale of the European Union (EU). To fill this gap, we used the LUCAS dataset that provides temporally and spatially-incomplete land cover information to map of dominant crop sequences for the whole EU over 2012–2018. This map is a useful baseline to assess the benefits of future crop diversification.
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