Intercropping maintains soil fertility in terms of chemical properties and enzyme activities on a timescale of one decade

Overyielding (i.e., mixtures of crops yielding higher than expected when compared with monocultures) and increased nutrient acquisition have been found in many intercropping systems. However, there are very few published studies on long-term changes in soil chemical and biological properties in intercropping systems compared to sole cropping. A field experiment was established in 2003 in Gansu province, northwest China. The treatments comprised...