Maria Grazia Mastronardi, F. Arcieri, Marco Crudele, Adriano Didonna, Ilaria Laterza, Annalisa Somma, Marzia Guerriero, Stefano Pavan, Pietro Santamaria, Rita Milvia De Miccolis Angelini, Giovanni Tamburini
Current agricultural paradigms prioritise yield while overlooking crops’ contributions to ecosystem functioning. In this Perspective paper, we reframe crops as active providers of multiple ecosystem services. We propose a trait–process–service framework linking functional traits to ecological processes and service delivery, enabling systematic comparisons across species and varieties. Crops should be evaluated not only for yield, but also for their multiple ecological contributions, informing breeding, management and policy decisions.