Replacing Fallow with Cover Crops in a Semiarid Soil: Effects on Soil Properties

Blanco‐Canqui, Humberto; Holman, Johnathon D.; Schlegel, Alan J.; Tatarko, John; Shaver, Timothy M.

doi:10.2136/sssaj2013.01.0006

Cited by 199 publications

(161 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…As rates of residue removal increase, the adverse effects of residue removal on soil properties and subsequent soil ecosystem services could also increase [3,6,19,31]. Residue removal can increase soil erosion [10,11,19,20], reduce soil organic C (SOC) pools [20,21,36, 42], long-term soil productivity [5,19,20,37,42], and other soil services [42].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Cover Crop Use Allow Increased Levels of Corn Residue Removal for Biofuel in Irrigated and Rainfed Systems?

et al. 2017

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Corn (Zea mays L.) residue removal at high rates can result in negative impacts to soil ecosystem services. The use of cover crops could be a potential strategy to ameliorate any adverse effects of residue removal while allowing greater removal levels. Hence, the objective of this study was to determine changes in water erosion potential, soil organic C (SOC) and total N concentration, and crop yields under early-and lateterminated cover crop (CC) combined with five levels of corn residue removal after 3 years on rainfed and irrigated no-till continuous corn in Nebraska. Treatments were no CC, early-and late-terminated winter rye (Secale cereale L.) CC, and 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% corn residue removal rates. Complete residue removal reduced mean weight diameter (MWD) of water-stable aggregates (5 cm depth) by 29% compared to no removal at the rainfed site only, suggesting increased water erosion risk at rainfed sites. Late-terminated CC significantly increased MWD of water-stable aggregates by 27 to 37% at both sites compared to no CC, but earlyterminated CC had no effect. The increased MWD with late-terminated CC suggests that CC when terminated late can offset residue removal-induced risks of water erosion. Residue removal and CC did not affect SOC and total soil N concentration. Particulate organic matter increased with lateterminated CC at the irrigated site compared to no CC. Complete residue removal increased irrigated grain yield by 9% in 1 year relative to no Ruis et al. in Bioenergy Res 2017 Can Cover Crop Use 2 removal. Late-terminated CC had no effect on corn yield except in 1 year when yield was 8% lower relative to no CC due to low precipitation at corn establishment. Overall, late-terminated CC ameliorates residue removalinduced increases in water erosion potential and could allow greater levels of removal without reducing corn yields in most years, in the short term, under the conditions of this study.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Cover Crop Use Allow Increased Levels of Corn Residue Removal for Biofuel in Irrigated and Rainfed Systems?

et al. 2017

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“…Some studies even suggested negative effects of CSA management practices on SOC (e.g., Liang, Zhang, Fang, Yang, & Drury, 2007;Tian, Kang, Kolawole, Idinoba, & Salako, 2005). Some recent studies reported that a combination of cover crops and conservation tillage could significantly increase SOC compared to a single management practice (Ashworth, Allen, Wight, Saxton, & Tyler, 2014;Blanco-Canqui, Holman, Schlegel, Tatarko, & Shaver, 2013;Duval, Galantini, Capurro, & Martinez, 2016;Higashi et al, 2014). Some recent studies reported that a combination of cover crops and conservation tillage could significantly increase SOC compared to a single management practice (Ashworth, Allen, Wight, Saxton, & Tyler, 2014;Blanco-Canqui, Holman, Schlegel, Tatarko, & Shaver, 2013;Duval, Galantini, Capurro, & Martinez, 2016;Higashi et al, 2014).…”

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Responses of soil carbon sequestration to climate‐smart agriculture practices: A meta‐analysis

Bai

Huang

Ren

et al. 2019

Global Change Biology

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Climate‐smart agriculture (CSA) management practices (e.g., conservation tillage, cover crops, and biochar applications) have been widely adopted to enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring crop productivity. However, current measurements regarding the influences of CSA management practices on SOC sequestration diverge widely, making it difficult to derive conclusions about individual and combined CSA management effects and bringing large uncertainties in quantifying the potential of the agricultural sector to mitigate climate change. We conducted a meta‐analysis of 3,049 paired measurements from 417 peer‐reviewed articles to examine the effects of three common CSA management practices on SOC sequestration as well as the environmental controlling factors. We found that, on average, biochar applications represented the most effective approach for increasing SOC content (39%), followed by cover crops (6%) and conservation tillage (5%). Further analysis suggested that the effects of CSA management practices were more pronounced in areas with relatively warmer climates or lower nitrogen fertilizer inputs. Our meta‐analysis demonstrated that, through adopting CSA practices, cropland could be an improved carbon sink. We also highlight the importance of considering local environmental factors (e.g., climate and soil conditions and their combination with other management practices) in identifying appropriate CSA practices for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring crop productivity.

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“…Later terminated CCs can increase CC biomas yield (Ruis et al, 2017), which can result in changes to soil properties that directly influence soil gas fluxes, such as air‐filled porosity, soil aggregate stability, and SOC concentration (Stetson et al, 2012; Blanco‐Canqui et al, 2013; Wegner et al, 2015; Ruis et al, 2017). The objectives of this study were to: (i) evaluate the temporal changes in CO 2 , N 2 O, and CH 4 fluxes and other soil properties under early‐ and late‐terminated winter rye CCs in rainfed and irrigated no‐till corn in Nebraska, and (ii) compare the results with a review of published literature regarding CC effects on gas fluxes.…”

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Impacts of Early‐ and Late‐Terminated Cover Crops on Gas Fluxes

et al. 2018

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Cover crops (CCs) could alter soil processes, but the effects of early versus late termination of CCs on gas fluxes are not well known. We evaluated temporal changes in fluxes of CO2, N2O, and CH4 and related soil properties in no‐till corn (Zea mays L.) with and without winter rye (Secale cereale L.) CCs that were terminated early (30 d before planting) or late (at planting) in a rainfed silty clay loam and an irrigated silt loam in Nebraska from April 2016 to June 2017. Gas fluxes, soil temperature, and soil water content were measured biweekly to monthly, and wet aggregate stability and particulate organic matter concentrations were measured seasonally. We also compared our results with a global literature review. Late‐terminated CCs did not affect CH4 fluxes but increased daily CO2 fluxes by 59% compared with no CC at both sites and N2O fluxes by 92% at the rainfed site only. Early termination did not affect gas fluxes. Termination date did not affect cumulative fluxes and had minimal effects on soil properties. The literature review supports our study results, which indicate that CC effects on (i) CO2 fluxes are driven by plant respiration during the CC growing period, and (ii) N2O and CH4 fluxes are minimal under grass CCs. Overall, under no‐till, CC termination date has small effects on N2O and CH4 fluxes, but late CC termination can increase CO2 fluxes in spring due to greater biomass yield compared with early termination. Core Ideas Early‐terminated cover crops had limited effects on CO2 fluxes in this study. Late‐terminated cover crops increased CO2 flux mainly in spring due to higher cover crop biomass yield. Cover crop termination effects on N2O and CH4 fluxes were generally nonsignificant. Our literature review showed cover crops affected CO2 mostly during their growing period. Our literature results also showed grass cover crops had limited effects on N2O.

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Replacing Fallow with Cover Crops in a Semiarid Soil: Effects on Soil Properties

Cited by 199 publications

References 31 publications

Can Cover Crop Use Allow Increased Levels of Corn Residue Removal for Biofuel in Irrigated and Rainfed Systems?

Can Cover Crop Use Allow Increased Levels of Corn Residue Removal for Biofuel in Irrigated and Rainfed Systems?

Responses of soil carbon sequestration to climate‐smart agriculture practices: A meta‐analysis

Impacts of Early‐ and Late‐Terminated Cover Crops on Gas Fluxes

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