Circularity in Integrated Production Systems

Population growth is driving an increased demand for plant- and animal-based raw materials, intensifying land use and highlighting the need for coordinated agribusiness management. In light of the urgent need for agricultural sustainability, transforming the conventional food production system has become essential. Traditional linear systems follow the “extract–produce–discard” model, while circular systems aim to establish closed cycles, in which integrated systems connect different stages of the production chain.
This proposal presents a strategy to optimize agricultural production systems through the reuse and transformation of waste and by-products into valuable resources for farming and livestock. In this context, the adoption of mixed and integrated systems has proven effective in maximizing land use.
This collection aims to highlight the environmental and productive benefits of circular practices in integrated systems. These systems align increased productivity with reduced dependence on external inputs, improved nutrient use efficiency, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Despite scientific and technological advances in agribusiness, significant challenges remain for the large-scale implementation of these sustainable agricultural models.
Experimental studies and field research evaluating the impact of circular practices on agronomic performance, nutrient flows, input and bioinput efficiency, and environmental indicators are welcome.
Key questions remain regarding how these systems can be scaled up to different socioeconomic contexts, ensuring their practical applicability on a larger scale. In this context, this Research Topic aims to bring together recent advances on the subject, with contributions from various research groups, providing updates on applied methodologies, strategies, and their feasibility. It also seeks to promote multidisciplinary discussions that stimulate new ideas and strengthen this field of study.

The scope of this collection includes works that explore both theoretical and practical foundations related to circularity practices in integrated food production systems, such as:

· Environmental and productive impacts of adopting integrated, diverse, or mixed agricultural systems (e.g., crop-livestock-forest integration and its spatial and temporal variations);

· Environmental and productive outcomes from using agricultural or agro-industrial waste as inputs in integrated production systems;

· Field data studies demonstrating reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, improvements in nutrient cycling, or increased resource use efficiency from a circularity perspective;

· Systematic reviews or mini-reviews consolidating recent findings on circular strategies applied to integrated agricultural systems;

· Reviews on conceptual frameworks and terminologies related to the circular economy in agricultural systems.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Food security, Sustainable Intensification, Circularity in Agriculture, Climate change mitigation, Resource Use Efficiency

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.