CAROF Matthieu

Scientist at Institut Agro / SAS Phone: (+33) 2 23 48 54 77 Email: matthieu.carof@agrocampus-ouest.fr Address: Institut Agro, UMR SAS, 65 rue de St-Brieuc, CS 84215, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France Expertise: Agronomy, Agroecology Keywords: Crop diversification, Cropping system / farming system design, Multi-criteria assessment, Sustainable agricultural systems

Research

• Deputy director of SAS research unit
• Leader of the research axis "Agricultural System Design" (axe Conception) of SAS research unit
• Co-organiser of the 18th ESA Congress (2024)

Current research topic

The focus of my research is on the design and assessment of agricultural systems that exploit the benefits of plant diversity in conjunction with animal production. The long term implications of such systems will also be of interest to me.

Latest projects

• C-DIVERS : Contribution of diversified low-input cropping systems and hedgerows to supporting the multifunctionality of mixed crop-livestock agroecosystems
• FAST : Facilitating public action to reduce the use of pesticides
• EIDER : Resilience & sustainability of grass-based dairy systems in Brittany
• SEGAE : Development of a serious game for teaching agroecology

Teaching experience

• Associate professor in Agronomy
• Leader of the Master 2 “Agrosystèmes : conception et évaluation” (Engineering courses)
• Leader of the Master 2 “Fonctionnement et gestion des agrosystèmes” (Master of Science)

Recent productions

• Léa Doussinault, Stéphanie Aviron, Matthieu Carof et Audrey Alignier. Crop diversity in rotation and hedgerows: Two important but potentially insufficient levers to support the multifunctionality of agroecosystems. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 404: 110371 (2026). 10.1016/j.agee.2026.110371
• Arnaud Delbaere, Matthieu Carof, Olivier Godinot et Edith Le Cadre. Fostering creativity to design biodiversity-based cropping systems that consider the long term: a participatory framework. Frontiers in Agronomy 7: 1601337 (2025). 10.3389/fagro.2025.1601337
• Julia Denantes, Anne-Lise Jacquot, Matthieu Carof, Carole Ropars-Collet et Aude Ridier. Work in agriculture: A blind spot in reducing pesticide use on dairy farms? Agricultural Systems 224: 104221 (2025). 10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104221
• Perrine Branchet, Olivier Godinot, Nouraya Akkal-Corfini, Matthieu Carof et al. On-farm water quality: Co-design of result-based indicators. Agricultural Systems 225: 104275 (2025). 10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104275
• Olivier Godinot, Julia Jouan, Thomas Nesme et Matthieu Carof. Evidence of a rebound effect in agriculture: Crop-livestock reconnection beyond the farm gate does not always lead to more sustainable nitrogen management. Agricultural Systems 221: 104137 (2024). 10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104137 
• Audrey Alignier, Matthieu Carof et Stéphanie Aviron. Assessing cropping system multifunctionality: An analysis of trade-offs and synergies in French cereal fields. Agricultural Systems 221: 104100 (2024). 10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104100
• Matthieu Carof. Contribution à la conception et l’évaluation de systèmes agricoles diversifiés, durables et résilients. Mémoire pour l'obtention de l'Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches. Université de Rennes (2023). 10.17180/6y37-c671
• Matthieu Carof, Olivier Godinot, et Edith Le Cadre. Biodiversity-based cropping systems: A long-term perspective is necessary. Science of The Total Environment 838: 156022 (2022). 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156022
• Julia Jouan, Matthieu Carof et al. SEGAE: An online serious game to learn agroecology. Agricultural Systems 191: 103145 (2021). 10.1016/j.agsy.2021.103145
• Julia Jouan, Aude Ridier et Matthieu Carof. SYNERGY: A regional bio-economic model analyzing farm-to-farm exchanges and legume production to enhance agricultural sustainability. Ecological Economics 175: 106688 (2020). 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106688
• Julia Jouan, Aude Ridier et Matthieu Carof. Legume production and use in feed: analysis of levers to improve protein self-sufficiency from foresight scenarios. Journal of Cleaner Production 274: 123085 (2020). 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123085
• Julia Jouan, Aude Ridier et Matthieu Carof. Economic drivers of legume production: Approached via opportunity costs and transaction costs. Sustainability 11: 705 (2019). 10.3390/su11030705
• Matthieu Carof, Olivier Godinot et Aude Ridier. Diversity of protein-crop management in western France. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 39: 15 (2019). 10.1007/s13593-019-0561-7
• Matthieu Carof et Olivier Godinot. A free online tool to calculate three Nitrogen-related indicators for farming systems. Agricultural Systems 162: 28-33 (2018). 10.1016/j.agsy.2018.01.015