An international team, including researchers from Spain, France, and Germany, suggests that tree crops are essential to feed the world and hold immense potential for protecting biodiversity and the climate, according to a study published in Nature Sustainability. The authors emphasise that these crops can improve the livelihoods of millions of people worldwide.
Crops such as apples, cherries, olives, nuts, coffee, and cacao cover more than 183 million hectares worldwide. Despite their critical role in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), they remain largely overlooked in agricultural policies.
The authors urge policymakers to develop ways to promote sustainable practices in tree-crop agriculture. Most agricultural policies focus on annual crops (such as wheat or rice) with much shorter life cycles. While sustainable practices for these crops are also essential, their ecological benefits are limited due to their simpler vegetation and shorter harvest cycles.
In contrast, tree crops are more complex and provide stable habitats that can support biodiversity when managed sustainably. In addition, with their permanent root systems, these crops also prevent erosion and enhance soil fertility. Tree crops can limit greenhouse gas emissions, improve habitat connectivity, and buffer protected areas from the impacts of intensive forms of agriculture. Finally, tree crops tend to be less mechanised and require more manual labour, creating employment opportunities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where these crops are widespread.
“Tree cropping areas overlap with most of the world’s biodiversity-rich areas, making them key to conservation. However, local practices and landscape-scale measures adapted to different contexts are needed. We call for tailored policies and further research to ensure sustainable management of tree crops,” explained co-author Dr Elena Velado-Alonso at Göttingen University’s Functional Agrobiodiversity and Agroecology Group. “This call to action represents a crucial step in rethinking agriculture’s role in building a fairer, more sustainable future.”
“We’re missing an opportunity to leverage tree crops to address some of the biggest environmental and social challenges of our time,” added Dr Carlos Martínez-Núñez, researcher at the Doñana Biological Station. “When managed properly, these agricultural systems can be a powerful tool for biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, and rural poverty alleviation, in addition to producing around 1,000 million metric tons of food annually.”
Martinez-Nuñez, C., Velado-Alonso, E., Avelino, J. et al. Tailored policies for perennial woody crops are crucial to advance sustainable development. Nat Sustain 8, 133–141 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01483-8