Using cost-benefit analysis to understand adoption of winter cover cropping in California's specialty crop systems

DeVincentis, Alyssa J.; Solís, Samuel Sandoval; Bruno, Ellen; Leavitt, Amber; Gomes, Anna Catharina; Rice, Sloane; Zaccaria, Daniele

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110205

“…However, past research is often dated or has been conducted in temperate regions of the United States not facing similar agricultural challenges as California (McVay et al 1989;Prichard et al 1989). While growers anticipate benefits from winter cover cropping, they lack concrete information to decide if the potential water footprint is worth the operational costs and potential hurdles associated with this practice (DeVincentis et al 2020;Sarrantonio and Gallandt 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of winter cover cropping on soil moisture and evapotranspiration in California's specialty crop fields may be minimal during winter months

DeVincentis¹,

Solís²,

Rice³

et al. 2022

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As fresh water supplies become more unreliable, variable and expensive, the water-related implications of sustainable agriculture practices such as cover cropping are drawing increasing attention from California's agricultural communities. However, the adoption of winter cover cropping remains limited among specialty crop growers who face uncertainty regarding the water use of this practice. To investigate how winter cover crops affect soil water and evapotranspiration on farm fields, we studied three systems that span climatic and farming conditions in California's Central Valley: processing tomato fields with cover crop, almond orchards with cover crop, and almond orchards with native vegetation. From 2016 to 2019, we collected soil moisture data (3 years of neutron hydroprobe and gravimetric tests at 10 field sites) and evapotranspiration measurements (2 years at two of 10 sites) in winter cover cropped and control (clean-cultivated, bare ground) plots during winter months. Generally, there were not significant differences in soil moisture between cover cropped and control fields throughout or at the end of the winter seasons, while evapo-transpirative losses due to winter cover crops were negligible relative to clean-cultivated soil. Our results suggest that winter cover crops in the Central Valley may break even in terms of actual consumptive water use. California growers of high-value specialty crops can likely adopt winter cover cropping without altering their irrigation plans and management practices.

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“…Additionally, cover crops can improve the effectiveness of applying water during the dormant season to refill the soil profile and leach salts. These combined potential management implications could incentivize winter cover cropping for specialty growers of annual crops that are concerned with late winter rains delaying cover crop termination, thereby preventing complications with contractual obligations (DeVincentis et al 2020).…”

Section: Applications and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of winter cover cropping on soil moisture and evapotranspiration in California's specialty crop fields may be minimal during winter months

DeVincentis¹,

Solís²,

Rice³

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As fresh water supplies become more unreliable, variable and expensive, the water-related implications of sustainable agriculture practices such as cover cropping are drawing increasing attention from California's agricultural communities. However, the adoption of winter cover cropping remains limited among specialty crop growers who face uncertainty regarding the water use of this practice. To investigate how winter cover crops affect soil water and evapotranspiration on farm fields, we studied three systems that span climatic and farming conditions in California's Central Valley: processing tomato fields with cover crop, almond orchards with cover crop, and almond orchards with native vegetation. From 2016 to 2019, we collected soil moisture data (3 years of neutron hydroprobe and gravimetric tests at 10 field sites) and evapotranspiration measurements (2 years at two of 10 sites) in winter cover cropped and control (clean-cultivated, bare ground) plots during winter months. Generally, there were not significant differences in soil moisture between cover cropped and control fields throughout or at the end of the winter seasons, while evapo-transpirative losses due to winter cover crops were negligible relative to clean-cultivated soil. Our results suggest that winter cover crops in the Central Valley may break even in terms of actual consumptive water use. California growers of high-value specialty crops can likely adopt winter cover cropping without altering their irrigation plans and management practices.

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“…O emprego das culturas de cobertura, outra denominação para adubos verdes, é realizado com o objetivo de obter serviços agronômicos e ecológicos (Elhakeem et al, 2019) que possibilitam a melhoria das características físicas, químicas e biológicas do solo (Devincentins et al, 2020). Normalmente os benefícios da utilização dos adubos verdes devem ser considerados em longo prazo, em decorrência destes comporem a matéria orgânica do solo, e esta pode estar em diferentes estágios de decomposição, assim os nutrientes minerais se dividem em parte imobilizada, não estando disponíveis para a absorção pelas plantas, e em parte mineralizada, prontamente acessível às plantas.…”

Section: Vulgaris)unclassified

Contribuição da adubação verde nas características químicas, físicas e biológicas do solo e sua influência na nutrição de hortaliças

Abranches

¹

,

Silva

²

,

Santos

³

et al. 2021

RSD

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A adubação verde é uma técnica milenar onde se faz o cultivo de plantas especialmente destinadas à melhoria dos parâmetros físicos, químicos e/ou biológicos do solo. Tais plantas devem apresentar características relevantes como a alta produção de biomassa, facilidade de cultivo, rusticidade, além da capacidade de fixação biológica do nitrogênio associada às plantas da família Fabaceae, sendo esta amplamente explorada. Diante disso, a presente revisão de literatura teve por objetivo levantar e reunir informações relacionadas à adubação verde e seus efeitos sobre as características do solo, influenciando a nutrição de hortaliças. Algumas das vantagens mais pronunciadas da técnica são manutenção do solo coberto, o que minimiza as perdas por erosão, e a disponibilização de nutrientes que poderão ser absorvidos pelas culturas econômicas. Além disso, foi possível identificar que grande parte dos estudos datam da década passada, sendo poucos os publicados nos últimos anos. A tendência percebida é de crescimento e ganho de espaço, devido à consolidação de benefícios e mudança do ponto de vista tanto dos agricultores quanto dos consumidores, que anseiam pelo consumo de alimentos produzidos de forma sustentável.

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Using cost-benefit analysis to understand adoption of winter cover cropping in California's specialty crop systems

Cited by 40 publications

References 23 publications

Impacts of winter cover cropping on soil moisture and evapotranspiration in California's specialty crop fields may be minimal during winter months

Impacts of winter cover cropping on soil moisture and evapotranspiration in California's specialty crop fields may be minimal during winter months

Impacts of winter cover cropping on soil moisture and evapotranspiration in California's specialty crop fields may be minimal during winter months

Contribuição da adubação verde nas características químicas, físicas e biológicas do solo e sua influência na nutrição de hortaliças

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