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Open research questions in Sustainable Agricultural Systems Analysis

111 gap statements mined from Sustainable Agricultural Systems Analysis papers in our 4.5M-paper local library, which holds 868 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • The paper identifies challenges like yield loss, lack of short- and medium-term economic gains, and inaccessibility of proper equipment as barriers to adopting soil health practices. It also highlights the challenge of integrating regenerative agriculture practices effectively in dryland systems due to extreme weather and water scarcity.

    Exploring the nexus between regenerative agriculture and soil health: a special emphasis on semi-arid and arid agriculture · 2026 · DOI

  • The gap exists in understanding how smallholders are integrating GHG-MI, which include improving feeding, breeding, health and welfare, and manure management.

    Heterogeneity in integration of greenhouse gas mitigating interventions among rural and Peri-urban smallholder dairy farms in Nakuru County, Kenya · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research is needed to investigate the applicability and limitations of OASIS in different systems. Future studies could aim to have a representative sampling of different farm types. Research could be conducted to compare the results of OASIS with other tools, such as TAPE.

    Application of the Original Agroecological Survey and Indicator System tool (OASIS) to organic and conventional farms in Belgium, France, and Italy · 2025 · DOI

  • There is a lack of adequate tools and methodology to assess the transition to agroecology. The existing tools and frameworks do not provide a comprehensive assessment of the level of agroecological transition of a farm.

    Application of the Original Agroecological Survey and Indicator System tool (OASIS) to organic and conventional farms in Belgium, France, and Italy · 2025 · DOI

  • Future research could explore regional-scale and broader environmental, economic and social impacts of circular practices to better inform policy and increase their appeal.

    Evaluating circular practices in agriculture: A farm-level nitrogen and greenhouse gas marginal abatement cost curve approach · 2026 · DOI

  • However, effects of the relative percentages of ruminants and monogastric animals in regions with high livestock density on their food production and environmental impacts remain unexplored.

    Territorial insights into agri-food system circularity: energy and nitrogen flows of two livestock production regions in Brittany (France) · 2026 · DOI

  • CONTEXT Grassland-based livestock production in China sustains the livelihoods of millions of herders while simultaneously generating substantial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yet the coupled mechanisms linking emissions and economic returns at the household-scale remain poorly understood.

    Household-level greenhouse gas emissions and economic performance on the Mongolia Plateau: Typology, trade-offs and scenario pathways · 2026 · DOI

  • Although SI strategies are widely promoted, their overall climate mitigation potential in boreal crop–livestock systems remains uncertain.

    Net climate impacts of sustainable intensification measures in boreal Finnish crop-livestock system · 2026 · DOI

  • Feed production on the remaining rangeland patches was insufficient for livestock nutrition, causing drops of herd body weight and herd size particularly in drought years.

    Assessing impacts of crop area expansion and crop-livestock integration on ecosystem functions in African savannas using the coupled LUCIA and LIVSIM models · 2025 · DOI

  • Little is known about the diversity of the practices implemented by farmers and their relation to the productive outcomes achieved.

    Archetypes of cow-calf systems on Campos grasslands from an ecological intensification perspective, their productivity and trophic performance · 2025 · DOI

  • In Northern Queensland, farmers have limited information on options to increase resilience to climate variability and market volatility by diversifying production activities in large-scale rangeland grazing farms.

    Benefits and trade-offs from the diversification of rangeland farms in Northern Queensland, Australia · 2025 · DOI

  • Biogas is an interesting technology in this respect, however, the possible farm-level economic impacts from investing in a biogas-based system are not well understood, yet they are decisive to understand farmers' incentives for adoption.

    Economic and climate effects of farm-level biogas adoption: A stochastic partial budget analysis and life cycle assessment for Swedish dairy farming · 2025 · DOI

  • There is currently no consensus on the role of livestock in scenarios of OA expansion, despite their critical contribution to increasing soil fertility through grazing and nutrient cycling via manure and urine.

    Performances of conventional and organic livestock development scenarios in France through nitrogen flow analysis · 2025 · DOI

  • This review takes the position that a more nuanced, yet broader framing of agricultural sustainability is warranted, and identifies the measurement of additional pillars including health and nutrition, production, and responsible governance, plus overlooked aspects including Indigenous cultures.

    Comprehensive assessment instruments for place-based sustainable agriculture: a scoping review · 2025 · DOI

  • However, synthesis of existing evidence examining trade-offs and moderating factors is lacking.

    Not just empty promises? A systematic and multi-faceted review of evidence for sustainable tea farming approaches · 2025 · DOI

  • However, there is no consensus on which circularity indicators best suit this sector.

    Assessing agri-food products circularity by using the material circularity and circular flow indices · 2025 · DOI

  • Many non-chemical techniques to control pests, weeds and diseases are individually well documented, but quantitative assessment of how much the reliance on pesticides could be decreased through a holistic approach of cropping system re-design combining several individual techniques was lacking.

    Crop management strategy redesign enables a reduction in reliance on pesticides: A diachronic approach based on a diversity of French commercial farms · 2024 · DOI

  • Although farming systems´ resilience has been widely conceptualised, no consensus has been reached about assessing the contribution of farm and farmer attributes to farmers´ perceived resilience by quantitative approaches.

    How do farm and farmer attributes explain perceived resilience? · 2024 · DOI

  • Whether and how cropping systems and specific management practices might modulate agroecosystem multifunctionality remains unknown, as do the potential trade-offs and synergies among functions.

    Assessing cropping system multifunctionality: An analysis of trade-offs and synergies in French cereal fields · 2024 · DOI

  • Adaptation relates to climate change and economic instability, while transformation, though rarely addressed directly, emphasizes societal change.

    Agricultural diversification across spatial levels – A contribution to resilience and sustainability? · 2025 · DOI

  • Limited literature was found which encompassed the complexity of the requirements for measuring agricultural sustainability on-farm.

    Comprehensive assessment instruments for place-based sustainable agriculture: a scoping review · 2025 · DOI

  • Initial tests show potential use of I-DRo and mixed results for predictive quality.

    I-DRo: A new indicator to assess spatiotemporal diversity and ecosystem services of crop rotations · 2025 · DOI

  • Assessing the feasibility of prominent SHPs in dryland systems - Investigating the variable nature of adoption practices amongst farmers - Examining the impact of RA practices on soil health and ecosystem services in different regions…

    Exploring the nexus between regenerative agriculture and soil health: a special emphasis on semi-arid and arid agriculture · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research is needed to understand the barriers to GHG-MI adoption among smallholder farmers, - Studies should investigate the emission reduction potential of different GHG-MI practices, - Research should focus on developing climate finance credit options for smallholder…

    Heterogeneity in integration of greenhouse gas mitigating interventions among rural and Peri-urban smallholder dairy farms in Nakuru County, Kenya · 2026 · DOI

  • More generally, our work opens the door to further studies on how agricultural management fosters the simultaneous provision of multiple functions including socio-economic ones.

    Assessing cropping system multifunctionality: An analysis of trade-offs and synergies in French cereal fields · 2024 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Sustainable Agricultural Systems Analysis

Most recent work

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) The paper identifies challenges like yield loss, lack of short- and medium-term economic gains, and inaccessibility of proper equipment as barriers to adopting soil health practices (“Exploring the nexus between regenerative agriculture and soil health: a special…”, 2026); (2) Future research could explore regional-scale and broader environmental, economic and social impacts of circular practices to better inform policy and increase their appeal (“Evaluating circular practices in agriculture: A farm-level nitrogen and…”, 2026); (3) Effects of the relative percentages of ruminants and monogastric animals in regions with high livestock density on their food production and environmental impacts remain unexplored (“Territorial insights into agri-food system circularity: energy and nitrogen…”, 2026); (4) Further research is needed to investigate the applicability and limitations of OASIS in different systems (“Application of the Original Agroecological Survey and Indicator System tool…”, 2025); (5) Little is known about the diversity of the practices implemented by farmers and their relation to the productive outcomes achieved (“Archetypes of cow-calf systems on Campos grasslands from an ecological…”, 2025). 111 gap statements have been mined from Sustainable Agricultural Systems Analysis papers in our 4.5M-paper local library, which holds 868 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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