Winter cover crops as a best management practice for reducing nitrogen leaching

Ritter, William F.; Scarborough, R. W.; Chirnside, Anastasia E. M.

doi:10.1016/s0169-7722(98)00087-4

Cited by 63 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…When compared with the baseline scenario (13.9 kg ha −1 ), the cover crop scenarios reduced nitrate loads by 27 (WL)-67 % (RE) at the watershed scale. This finding compared well with the results of previous studies that reported the importance of early planting date (Ritter et al, 1998;Feyereisen et al, 2006;Hively et al, 2009). Shorter day lengths and lower temperatures could also limit the growth of cover crop biomass during the winter season.…”

Section: Multiple Scenarios Analysissupporting

confidence: 90%

“…While this finding seems to be reasonable, further field-based studies are needed to verify this finding. It was noted that 60 % cover crop coverage with an early planting date would reduce more nitrate than 100 % cover crop coverage with late planting, emphasizing the importance of early cover crop planting as indicated by other studies (Ritter et al, 1998;Hively et al, 2009).…”

Section: Multiple Scenarios Analysismentioning

confidence: 75%

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Assessing winter cover crop nutrient uptake efficiency using a water quality simulation model

Yeo

Lee

Sadeghi

et al. 2014

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Winter cover crops are an effective conservation management practice with potential to improve water quality. Throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed (CBW), which is located in the mid-Atlantic US, winter cover crop use has been emphasized, and federal and state cost-share programs are available to farmers to subsidize the cost of cover crop establishment. The objective of this study was to assess the long-term effect of planting winter cover crops to improve water quality at the watershed scale (∼ 50 km 2 ) and to identify critical source areas of high nitrate export. A physically based watershed simulation model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), was calibrated and validated using water quality monitoring data to simulate hydrological processes and agricultural nutrient cycling over the period of 1990-2000. To accurately simulate winter cover crop biomass in relation to growing conditions, a new approach was developed to further calibrate plant growth parameters that control the leaf area development curve using multitemporal satellitebased measurements of species-specific winter cover crop performance. Multiple SWAT scenarios were developed to obtain baseline information on nitrate loading without winter cover crops and to investigate how nitrate loading could change under different winter cover crop planting scenarios, including different species, planting dates, and implementation areas. The simulation results indicate that winter cover crops have a negligible impact on the water budget but significantly reduce nitrate leaching to groundwater and delivery to the waterways. Without winter cover crops, annual nitrate loading from agricultural lands was approximately 14 kg ha −1 , but decreased to 4.6-10.1 kg ha −1 with cover crops resulting in a reduction rate of 27-67 % at the watershed scale. Rye was the most effective species, with a potential to reduce nitrate leaching by up to 93 % with early planting at the field scale. Early planting of cover crops (∼ 30 days of additional growing days) was crucial, as it lowered nitrate export by an additional ∼ 2 kg ha −1 when compared to late planting scenarios. The effectiveness of cover cropping increased with increasing extent of cover crop implementation. Agricultural fields with well-drained soils and those that were more frequently used to grow corn had a higher potential for nitrate leaching and export to the waterways. This study supports the effective implementation of cover crop programs, in part by helping to target critical pollution source areas for cover crop implementation.

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Section: Multiple Scenarios Analysissupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Multiple Scenarios Analysismentioning

confidence: 75%

Assessing winter cover crop nutrient uptake efficiency using a water quality simulation model

Yeo

Lee

Sadeghi

et al. 2014

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…Therefore, including catch crops in cereal-based cropping systems may help extend soil cover in autumn and winter and take up additional N left over in the soil after early harvest of the cereal crop (Thomsen et al, 2010). The effect of such short-season catch crops in reducing N leaching corroborates the findings of Ritter et al (1998), Shepherd (1999), Blombäck et al (2003) and Doltra and Olesen (2013). All the above results highlight the potential of catch crops in autumn/winter in reducing the annual N leaching in cereal cropping systems.…”

Section: Management Effectssupporting

confidence: 72%

Effect of temperature and precipitation on nitrate leaching from organic cereal cropping systems in Denmark

Jabloun

Schelde

Tao

et al. 2015

European Journal of Agronomy

117

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a b s t r a c tThe effect of variation in seasonal temperature and precipitation on soil water nitrate (NO 3 N) concentration and leaching from winter and spring cereals cropping systems was investigated over three consecutive four-year crop rotation cycles from 1997 to 2008 in an organic farming crop rotation experiment in Denmark. Three experimental sites, varying in climate and soil type from coarse sand to sandy loam, were investigated. The experiment included experimental treatments with different rotations, manure rate and cover crop, and soil nitrate concentrations was monitored using suction cups. The effects of climate, soil and management were examined in a linear mixed model, and only parameters with significant effect (P < 0.05) were included in the final model. The model explained 61% and 47% of the variation in the square root transform of flow-weighted annual NO 3 N concentration for winter and spring cereals, respectively, and 68% and 77% of the variation in the square root transform of annual NO 3 N leaching for winter and spring cereals, respectively. Nitrate concentration and leaching were shown to be site specific and driven by climatic factors and crop management. There were significant effects on annual N concentration and NO 3 N leaching of location, rotation, previous crop and crop cover during autumn and winter. The relative effects of temperature and precipitation differed between seasons and cropping systems. A sensitivity analysis revealed that the predicted N concentration and leaching increased with increases in temperature and precipitation.

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“…Other potential benefits of cover crops have been suggested, including weed suppression, carbon sequestration, integrated pest management (38), the provision of a source of forage in integrated farming systems (143), fixation of nitrogen, improvement of soil structure and reduced surface sealing of the soil (154).…”

Section: Cover Cropsmentioning

confidence: 99%