Legume-Cereal Intercropping and Nitrogen Management for Sustainable Agriculture

Nitrogen (N) management remains a central challenge for advancing sustainable food systems and climate change adaptation. While insufficient N limits crop yields, excessive use leads to environmental degradation through leaching and emissions. Legume-cereal intercropping—long practiced by small-scale and traditional farmers globally—naturally enhances nitrogen use efficiency and productivity, fosters soil health, and increases system resilience to environmental stressors.


With growing interest in ecologically sound production, legume-cereal intercropping systems are now being considered for wider adoption in the context of climate change. However, realizing their full potential requires a deeper understanding of the ecophysiological mechanisms, N cycling dynamics, and context-specific management strategies that underpin productivity, sustainability, and resilience.


This Research Topic invites contributions advancing knowledge on the dynamics of nitrogen in legume-cereal intercropping systems, with particular emphasis on agroecological climate change adaptation strategies. We welcome original research, reviews, field and modeling studies, and systems analyses that address (but are not limited to) the following:

Nitrogen cycling, fixation, and transfer between legumes and cereals

Soil quality, microbial activity, and rhizosphere interactions under intercropping;

Nutrient transfer and uptake dynamics among intercrops;

Optimizing planting patterns, spatial and temporal arrangements, and light interception (photosynthetic activity);

Germplasm selection, crop breeding, and trait identification for N use efficiency;

Interactions of nutrient × N and water × N, especially under environmental stress;

Cropping system resilience and adaptation in the face of climate variability and extremes;

Socioeconomic, cultural, and policy dimensions influencing adoption and scaling;

Life cycle, greenhouse gas, and environmental footprint assessments under different management scenarios.

Evaluation and analysis of Climate Smart adaptation strategies.




The aim of this Research Topic is to synthesize and present the latest advances that:

Elucidate key ecophysiological and system-level mechanisms governing nitrogen use and flow in legume-cereal intercropping

Promote actionable insights for improving productivity, sustainability, and resilience in diverse agroecosystems

Inform future research, practical innovation, and policy pathways towards food systems and climate change adaptation

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
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... 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
• 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: Agroecology, habitat management, Intercropping, nitrogen, nitrogen fixation, nutrient cycles, nutrient management, Rhizobia

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.