Nitrogen provisioned and recycled by cover crops in monoculture and mixture across two organic farms

Holmes, Ashley A.; Thompson, Ashley A.; Lovell, Sarah Taylor; Villamil, María B.; Yannarell, Anthony C.; Dawson, Jeffrey O.; Wortman, Sam E.

doi:10.1007/s10705-019-10024-1

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The prime function accomplished by legume cover crops is not to scavenge N, but rather to produce plant-available N through atmospheric fixation. By building soil N, legume cover crops can reduce, with careful management, the need for external fertilizer inputs (Holmes et al 2019;Shelton et al 2018). However, legume cover crops have a low C-N ratio and break down quickly; legumes therefore add less organic matter to soil than do nonlegume cover crops (Clark 2007).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cover crops and specialty crop agriculture: Exploring cover crop use among vegetable and fruit growers in Michigan and Ohio

Schoolman,

Arbuckle

2022

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

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Cover crops-crops grown primarily to protect and improve soil-are widely considered to be an important component of sustainable agricultural systems because their use can provide multiple ecosystem services without compromising yields over time. Specialty crops-fruits, vegetables, and horticultural crops-are increasingly important to US agriculture and food security and uniquely vulnerable to climate-related problems that cover crops can help to address. Yet far less research has been conducted on cover crop use by farmers who grow mainly specialty crops, compared to the much larger body of research on farmers who principally grow row crops like corn (Zea mays) and soybeans (Glycine max). In this study, we draw on survey data from a stratified, random sample of 881 specialty crop growers in Michigan and Ohio to accomplish two main goals. First, we seek to characterize cover crop use among this important group of farmers, focusing on types of cover crop used and use of multiple types. Second, we examine the relationship between cover crop use on vegetable and fruit farms and key social and economic factors, with particular attention to farmers' environmental values, adherence to organic principles, and sources of information. According to survey results, cover cropping is more likely when farmers (1) manage certified organic (p < 0.01) or organic-in-practice (p < 0.05) farms; (2) report being influenced by private crop consultants (p < 0.01); (3) attach high importance to agri-environmental goals (p < 0.01); and (4) grow vegetable crops instead of or in addition to fruit crops (p < 0.001). No relationship was found to exist between cover cropping and farmers' concerns about climate-related risks, education level, or perceived self-efficacy. We conclude by suggesting that the importance of structural factors to farmers' decisions about cover crops should not be underestimated. Promoting and strengthening the market for organic food may be the most direct pathway toward increasing the number of farmers who use cover crops. Historically important entities in agricultural networks, including cooperative extension and conservation nongovernmental organizations, might enhance their impact on cover crop use by forming new partnerships with private crop consultants.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cover crops and specialty crop agriculture: Exploring cover crop use among vegetable and fruit growers in Michigan and Ohio

Schoolman,

Arbuckle

2022

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

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“…Kaye et al (2019) found that, in comparison with fallow condition, only fall-seeded winter pea provided a better supply of N to silage corn. Holmes et al (2019) suggested that increasing the proportion of legumes in a mixture increases CC mineralization and, therefore, the amount of inorganic N available to the subsequent cash crop. However, Romdhane et al (2019) found that soil N dynamics was not affected by CC mixtures during the growth of the subsequent cash crop (spring barley).…”

Section: Effect Of CC Mixtures On N Supplymentioning

confidence: 99%

Using fall‐seeded cover crop mixtures to enhance agroecosystem services: A review

Lavergne

Vanasse

Thivierge

et al. 2021

Agrosystems Geosci & Env

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The intensification of agriculture has resulted in the loss of species diversity in agroecosystems. Crop diversification not only improves ecosystem functions but increases agroecosystem resilience to climate change. Cover crops (CC) are used in the crop rotation to increase plant diversity and provide continuous living roots and soil cover. Previous studies have focused mainly on pure stands of CC and on binary mixtures. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in multispecies mixtures (>2 species). Here, we review reports from the literature to document the effectiveness of fall-seeded CC mixtures to provide agroecosystem services such as weed suppression, N cycling, soil organic C storage, and crop productivity. We cover both organic and conventional field crop systems in North America and Europe. We found, for both systems, that fall-seeded CC mixtures increased many agroecosystem services compared with a control without CC; however, they had inconsistent effects in comparison with a pure stand. The capacity of mixtures to enhance a given agroecosystem service was found to be dependent on the species functional group. Legume-based mixtures increased soil N and C contents along with crop yield, whereas nonlegume mixtures improved N recycling and weed suppression. Differences in the functional groups within CC mixtures could lead to trade-offs among agroecosystem services. Future research should focus on what drives species-specific contributions to productivity and other ecosystem services when CC are seeded in mixtures. More long-term research is needed to provide better insights into the stability of the ecosystem services provided by CC mixtures.The intensification of agriculture in response to the increasing needs of the growing global population has led to a Abbreviations: CC, cover crop(s); SOC, soil organic carbon.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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“…The amount of additional N supply to subsequent crops strongly depends on the total N amount, the chemical composition (C/N ratio), and on the duration of decomposition and the resulting mineralisation/immobilisation of N [5]. For cover crop residues with wide C/N ratios, the subsequent N supply can be delayed or reduced [8,9]. Recently, cover crops cultivated as mixtures have received wider recognition in order to provide more diversity in agricultural land and to combine different functional traits in a beneficial way [10,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimation of Biomass and N Uptake in Different Winter Cover Crops from UAV-Based Multispectral Canopy Reflectance Data

et al. 2022

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Cover crops are known to provide beneficial effects to agricultural systems such as a reduction in nitrate leaching, erosion control, and an increase in soil organic matter. The monitoring of cover crops’ growth (e.g., green area index (GAI), nitrogen (N) uptake, or dry matter (DM)) using remote sensing techniques allows us to identify the physiological processes involved and to optimise management decisions. Based on the data of a two-year trial (2018, 2019) in Kiel, Northern Germany, the multispectral sensor Sequoia (Parrot) was calibrated to the selected parameters of the winter cover crops oilseed radish, saia oat, spring vetch, and winter rye as sole cover crops and combined in mixtures. Two simple ratios (SRred, SRred edge) and two normalised difference indices (NDred, NDred edge) were calculated and tested for their predicting power. Furthermore, the advantage of the species/mixture–individual compared to the universal models was analysed. SRred best predicted GAI, DM, and N uptake (R2: 0.60, 0.53, 0.45, respectively) in a universal model approach. The canopy parameters of saia oat and spring vetch were estimated by species–individual models, achieving a higher R2 than with the universal model. Comparing mixture–individual models to the universal model revealed low relative error differences below 3%. The findings of the current study serve as a tool for the rapid and inexpensive estimation of cover crops’ canopy parameters that determine environmental services.

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Nitrogen provisioned and recycled by cover crops in monoculture and mixture across two organic farms

Cited by 10 publications

References 47 publications

Cover crops and specialty crop agriculture: Exploring cover crop use among vegetable and fruit growers in Michigan and Ohio

Cover crops and specialty crop agriculture: Exploring cover crop use among vegetable and fruit growers in Michigan and Ohio

Using fall‐seeded cover crop mixtures to enhance agroecosystem services: A review

Estimation of Biomass and N Uptake in Different Winter Cover Crops from UAV-Based Multispectral Canopy Reflectance Data

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