cc_byKasten, Marit KingaWitte, FelixSponagel, ChristianBahrs, EnnoKöhler, ThomasMorinière, JérômeGrass, Ingo2025-07-032025-07-032024https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-024-00034-0https://hohpublica.uni-hohenheim.de/handle/123456789/17837Conventional agriculture significantly reduces biodiversity, while organic farming promotes it, but often yields half as much. Addressing this biodiversity-productivity trade-off is crucial for future agriculture. Mineral-ecological cropping systems (MECS) have been suggested as an alternative, blending organic and conventional methods by avoiding chemical-synthetic pesticides and using mineral fertilizers. In a German experiment with 168 parcels, we compared MECS, conventional, and organic systems in terms of ecological and economic performance. Arthropod diversity was measured through standardized species collections and DNA-metabarcoding. Productivity was assessed via yields and economic profits. MECS showed similar arthropod diversity to other farming systems, achieved 90% of conventional crop yields, and produced 1.8 times of the organic yield. Profits from MECS were on average 37% higher than the conventional system with a short wheat-maize-soy crop rotation. Further farm-level studies are needed, but MECS could be a reasonable alternative to both organic and conventional farming and can mitigate biodiversity-productivity trade-offs.eng630Article2025-06-18