Conservation Agriculture (CA) is actively promoted as an alternative farming system that combines environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Three pillars define CA: (i) minimum mechanical soil disturbance, (ii) permanent soil organic cover, and (iii) species diversification. The local context, constraints, and needs of the farmers influence the translation of the pillars into practices. Currently, there is no method for categorizing this diversity of CA practices, which hampers impact assessment, understanding of farmer choices and pathways, stakeholder communication, and policymaking. This paper presents a systematic method to identify and categorize the diversity of CA practices at the regional level, anchored in the three pillars and based on practices implemented by CA farmers. The classification method is grounded on the intersection of an archetypal analysis and a hierarchical clustering analysis. This method was used to study CA practices in Wallonia, Belgium, based on a survey of practices in a sample of 48 farmers. Combining the two clustering methods increases the proportion of classified farmers while allowing for the distinction between three CA-types with extreme and salient practices, and two intermediate CA-types comprising farmers whose practices fall between these references. The study reveals that three explanatory factors influence the implementation of CA practices in Wallonia: (i) the proportion of tillage-intensive crops and (ii) temporary grasslands in the crop sequence, and (iii) the organic certification. These factors lead to trade-offs that hinder the three pillars of CA from being fully implemented simultaneously. This new classification method can be replicated in other regions where CA is practiced, by adapting input variables according to context and local knowledge.

保护性农业（CA）作为一种结合了环境、经济和社会可持续性的替代农业系统而得到积极推广。定义 CA 的三个支柱是：(i) 最小的机械土壤扰动，(ii) 永久性土壤有机覆盖，以及 (iii) 物种多样化。当地环境、限制因素和农民的需求影响着支柱转化为实践。目前，还没有方法对这种多样性的 CA 实践进行分类，这阻碍了影响评估、对农民选择和途径的理解、利益相关者沟通和政策制定。本文提出了一种系统方法，用于识别区域层面的 CA 实践多样性并对其进行分类，该方法以三大支柱为基础，并基于 CA 农民实施的实践。该分类方法基于原型分析和层次聚类分析的交叉。该方法基于对 48 名农民样本的调查，用于研究比利时瓦隆区的 CA 实践。结合两种聚类方法增加了分类农民的比例，同时允许区分具有极端和突出做法的三种 CA 类型，以及由其做法属于这些参考范围之间的农民组成的两种中间 CA 类型。研究表明，三个解释因素影响瓦隆地区 CA 实践的实施：(i) 耕作密集型作物的比例，(ii) 作物序列中的临时草地，以及 (iii) 有机认证。这些因素导致了权衡，阻碍了 CA 的三大支柱同时得到充分实施。通过根据上下文和当地知识调整输入变量，可以在实施 CA 的其他地区复制这种新的分类方法。