Soil surface strength and infiltration rate as affected by winter cover crops

Soil erosion assessment on tillage and alternative soil managements in a Sicilian vineyard

“…Lasanta and Sobró n (1988) estimated that only 5% of the ground in an old vineyard is covered by cover plants during the rainy season and several studies under different environmental conditions have shown positive effects of vegetative cover for reducing water erosion (Cerdà , 1998). Cover crops increase infiltration of winter rain into the soil profile (Folorunso et al, 1992;Gulick et al, 1994). Vegetation also protects the soil surface from the impact of raindrops, reduces the energy of runoff, and stimulates the formation and stabilization of soil aggregates (Bouchet et al, 1999;Mataix-Solera et al, 2002;García-Orenes et al, 2005;Durá n-Zuazo and Rodríguez-Plequezuelo, 2008).…”

Natural and management-induced dynamics of hydraulic conductivity along a cover-cropped field slope

“…Kabir and Koide (2002) and Liu et al (2005) found improved stability of soil aggregates and higher aggregate mean weight diameters in cover-cropped fields. Cover crops are also considered to improve rainfall infiltration and water holding capacity (Folorunso et al, 1992;Martens and Frankenberger, 1992;Joyce et al, 2002). Carof et al (2005) however suggested that a plant cover may also result in lower hydraulic conductivity due to reduced fissuring of a soil surface protected by cover crop mulch.…”

Nonlinear analysis of rainfall dynamics in California's Sacramento Valley

“…In recent years there has been growing interest among farmers, researchers, governmental agencies, and environmental conservation groups in investigating and adopting alternative crop production practices that function to conserve soil and water resources, among others. Winter cover cropping has been receiving much attention as an alternative agriculture practice, as it: (1) increases soil water retention (Keisling et al, 1994;Colla et al, 2000) and infiltration (Williams, 1966;Gulick et al, 1994); (2) decreases soil surface strength (Folorunso et al, 1992;Bauer and Busscher, 1996) and bulk density (Keisling et al, 1994); and (3) provides protection from water erosion by improving aggregate stability (Jordahl and Karlen, 1993;Hermawan and Bomke, 1997). However, cover cropping often conflicts with water conservation, especially in Mediterranean climates, where rainfall occurs predominantly during the winter.…”