Blanco Julien auteur aut IRD Ollivier G. auteur aut IRD Alignier A. auteur aut IRD Aviron S. auteur aut IRD Sirami C. auteur aut IRD Kerneis E. auteur aut IRD Durant D. auteur aut IRD Sabatier R. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access Understanding the nexus between practices and ecosystems is a critical challenge for sustainability, but it is unclear how ecological sciences have explored the question. To bring clarification, we conducted an analysis of ecology literature dealing with agricultural and forestry practices (AF practices), scanning a total of 27 556 references. Scientometric analyses showed that AF practices were addressed by 5.5% of ecology literature, and that this proportion increased from 2.5 to 8.1% between 1956 and 2017. Content analyses showed that research has mainly focused on monospecific systems in the Global North, predominantly using plot-level experimental approaches. Temporal monitoring, real-world practices and their social context were poorly investigated. This analysis stresses the need to reinforce research in complex agroecosystems, in particular in non-Western countries. Multilevel and spatio-temporal approaches, as well as participatory research, should also be encouraged to build a social-ecological understanding and formulate more grounded, relevant policy recommendations for sustainability. specialized Agriculture Forestry Human-nature relationships Practitioners Scientometrics Social-ecological systems 021 082 098 010 51 5 1143-1157 2022 0044-7447 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010083367 10.1007/s13280-021-01664-1 0044-7447 [F B010083367] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010083367 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2021-12/010083367.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2021-12-03 2025-10-14 fdi:010083367 fre