In a seven-year field experiment, we found that maize cultivar mixtures increased grain yields and stabilized year-to-year yields over time, which was attributed to increased asynchrony and complementarity among cultivars, differences in functional traits, and plasticity in response to neighbors. These mechanisms provide new insight into how intraspecific diversity increases both natural and agricultural ecosystem functioning.
Su, Y., Zhang, WP., Zhao, JH. et al. Cultivar mixtures increase stability and productivity over time through asynchrony and complementarity. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 45, 20 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-025-01014-5