Montpellier Scientific Community

Functioning and management of tropical and Mediterranean cropping systems (SYSTEM)

Research area
Director: Jacques Wery wery@supagro.inra.fr		Website : http://www.montpellier.inra.fr/internet/recherche/unites/unites/system.html
The Functioning and management of tropical and Mediterranean cropping systems (SYSTEM) research unit produces knowledge and develops tools for the evaluation, management or designing of cropping systems combining economic performance and preservation of natural resources and the environment. Emphasis is on the integrated management of inputs and the combination of species with productive or environmental functions in order to ensure stable agronomic performances (yield and quality) and soil fertility management while limiting environmental impacts (pollution of water, erosion, biodiversity, etc.). Studies cover a large range of these multi-species and multifunctional systems in various tropical and Mediterranean contexts: intercropping high-value perennial crops (vineyards, coffee, cocoa, wood and multipurpose trees) with grasslands or annual crops, direct seeded mulch based cropping systems based on annual grain crops and relay-cropping with perennial forage crops, complex hand-managed agroforestry systems in the humid tropics with a high number of cultivated species. These cropping systems are used as a background and as an application context to develop research on two scientific domain of the systemic agronomy: Methodologies for the design or the evaluation of cropping systems analysed as complex piloted systems combining a biophysic and a decisional dimensions at field and farm levels. Knowledge on the relationships between structure, functions and services in multispecies cropping systems. These researches use a large range of methodologies including conceptual and numerical simulation, experiments, surveys and participatory design of systems. UMR System is leading MS and PhD curriculae on agro-ecology and cropping systems in SupAgro Montpellier.
Research highlights
The major aspects contributing to the international repute of the research unit are: Analysis and modeling of agroforestry cropping systems in Europe and in the sub-humid tropics Analysis and modeling of vineyards cropping systems Analysis and modeling of direct seeded mulch based cropping systems in the tropics Methodologies to design multifunctional cropping systems Relationships between soil water availability, growth and dynamic of these systems
Staff profile

Total permanent staff	Total Scientists*	Scientists with "HDR" [1]	Post-doc fellows	PhD
30	18	3	5	8
*Scientists per member institution: 9 CIRAD, 6 INRA, 3 SupAgro [1]French university degree for confirmed thesis supervisor

Research teams
Methodologies for design or assessment of cropping systems Role of the biological diversity of cultivated species in the productivity and sustainability of farming systems
Platforms and other tools
Experimental platforms to study the various cropping systems (two around Montpellier, one in Brazil, one in Costa Rica) Networks of farmers and regional platforms for participatory research on the design of innovative cropping systems (two in France, one in Brazil, one in Costa Rica, one in Zimbabwe, one in Mali) Simulation models or contribution to simulation platforms for the various cropping systems
Most important international partnerships
The SEAMLESS Association (especially the Plant Production System group in Wageningen) on integrated modeling for farming systems assessment [www.seamless-ip.org] The CATIE (Costa Rica) for agroforestry systems EMBRAPA (Brazil) for Direct Seeded Mulch Based Systems, The TSBF center (Zimbabwe) for soil fertility and tropical cropping systems More punctual collaborations with a large range of national research centers in Europe, in Australia and in the tropic
Facts and figures
Publications in international ranking journals
2007: 14 2006: 15 2005: 14
Representative publications
Celette, F., Wery, J., Chantelot, E., Celette, J., Gary, C., 2005. Belowground interactions in a vine (Vitis vinifera L.)-tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Shreb.) intercropping system: Water relations and growth. Plant and Soil (276), 205-217 Graves, A., Burgess, P., Liagre, F., Terreaux, J.-P., Dupraz, C., 2006. Development and use of a framework for characterising computer models of silvoarable economics. Agroforestry Systems (67), 301 Maltas, A., Corbeels, M., Scopel, E., Oliver, R., Douzet, J.M., da Silva, F.A.M., Wery, J., 2007. Long-term effects of continuous direct seeding mulch-based cropping systems on soil nitrogen supply in the Cerrado region of Brazil. Plant and Soil (298), 161-173 Rapidel, B., Defèche, C., Traoré, B., Lançon, J., Wery, J., 2006. In-field development of a conceptual crop functioning and management model: A case study on cotton in southern Mali. European Journal of Agronomy (24), 304-315 Tixier, P., Risede, J.M., Dorel, M., Malézieux, E., 2006. Modelling population dynamics of banana plant-parasitic nematodes: A contribution to the design of sustainable cropping systems. Ecological Modelling (198), 321-331
List of software developed within the unit
Development of the Hi-sAFe model for agroforestry systems Contribution to the development of the crop model (APES) of SEAMLESS for tropical crops, perennial crops and for crop associations Contribution to the improvement of several crop models (STICS in France and APSIM in Australia)