Chloe MacLaren

My current project "EcoDiv: An ecological framework to advance crop diversification in southern Africa" investigates whether different diversification options (different layouts and species combinations for intercrops and rotations) are more or less successful in different biophysical or socioeconomic contexts, and why.

I hold an MSCA Global Postdoctoral Fellowship (funded by the European Union), hosted by SLU and by the International Centre for Wheat and Maize Improvement (CIMMYT) in Zimbabwe.

In my work, I have explored the role of plant interactions in agroecosystems from the field scale (e.g. measuring traits that influence intercrop productivity) to the global scale (e.g. synthesising evidence from long-term experiments around the world). I am interested in the plant ecology that underpins these outcomes, but also in the implications for farmers and society. For example, what are the consequences for food security, health, and livelihoods if agronomic inputs are replaced with more ecological farm management practices?

PhD in Agroecology - Coventry University, UK (2018)

MSc in International Nature Conservation - Lincoln University, New Zealand, & University of Göttingen, Germany (2013)

BSc in Biological Sciences and Environmental Science - University of Auckland, New Zealand (2010)

At SLU, I am part of the Cropping Systems group led by Ingrid Öborn in the Department of Crop Production Ecology.

I was recently based in Harare, Zimbabwe, for 2 years, where I was hosted by CIMMYT in their Sustainable Agrifood Systems programme.

I also collaborate frequently with Stellenbosch University's Department of Agronomy in South Africa and co-supervise several students there.

Before coming to SLU, I worked at Rothamsted Research in the UK, on a project exploring crop diversification in Kenya and Nigeria alongside partners from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.

Van Ittersum, M. K., Silva, J. V., Bommarco, R., Hijbeek, R., Lundin, O., Nandillon, R., Bergkvist, G., Menegat, A., Öborn, I., Söderholm-Emas, A., Stoddard, F. L., Vico, G., Vonk, W. J., Watson, C. A., & MacLaren, C. (2025). Narrowing the ecological yield gap to sustain crop yields with less inputs. Global Food Security, 45, 100857.

Grandy, A. S., Daly, A. B., Bécu, T., Cardinael, R., Fontaine, S., Jilling, A., MacLaren, C., & Phillips, R. P. (2024). A microbial framework for nitrogen cycling solutions in agroecosystems. One Earth, 7(12), 2103–2107.

MacLaren, C., Waswa, W., Aliyu, K.T., Claessens, L., Mead, A., Schöb, C., Vanlauwe, B. and Storkey, J., 2023. Predicting intercrop competition, facilitation, and productivity from simple functional traits. Field Crops Research, 297, p.108926

MacLaren, C., Mead, A., van Balen, D., Claessens, L., Etana, A., de Haan, J., Haagsma, W., Jäck, O., Keller, T., Labuschagne, J. and Myrbeck, Å., 2022. Long-term evidence for ecological intensification as a pathway to sustainable agriculture. Nature Sustainability, 5(9), pp.770-779

MacLaren, C., Storkey, J., Menegat, A., Metcalfe, H. and Dehnen-Schmutz, K., 2020. An ecological future for weed science to sustain crop production and the environment. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 40, pp.1-29

SLU News: Crop Production in Balance with Nature

Farming and fertilisers: how ecological practices can make a difference 

Ecological Principles for Weed Management

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