Winter cover crops decreased soil mineral N contents and increased soil organic C stocks and N2O emission

Helfrich, Mirjam; Dechow, René; Merl, Simone; Fuß, Roland; Räbiger, Thomas; Kühling, Insa; Schlathölter, Michaela; Kage, Henning; Flessa, Heinz

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2024.108985

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

2024

DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2024.108985

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Winter cover crops decreased soil mineral N contents and increased soil organic C stocks and N2O emission

Mirjam Helfrich,

René Dechow,

Simone Merl

et al.

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2024

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Nitrogen transformation as affected by decomposition of ¹⁵N‐labeled cover crop shoots and roots

Süß,

Kemmann,

Helfrich

et al. 2024

J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.

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BackgroundIncorporation of cover crop (cc) shoot and root biomass can have different effects on nitrogen (N) dynamics and the transformation of soil‐derived N and cc N.AimsThe objective was to determine the effects of different ccs, cc compartments (roots and shoots), and pretreatment of cc biomass (fresh vs. dried) on mineralization processes and on the transformation of soil and cc N following incorporation into a silty loam soil.MethodsSoil columns with incorporated 15N‐labeled root and shoot biomass of two cc species (winter rye and oil radish) and different pretreatments (dried and fresh) were incubated for 70 days at a constant temperature and soil moisture (8°C, 40% water‐filled pore space). Carbon and N transformation dynamics were determined repeatedly, distinguishing between N originating from cc biomass and from soil.ResultsNet CO2 emission was related to the amount of soluble cell components added with ccs. Net N mineralization was negatively related to the C:N ratio of cc biomass. The incorporation of dried cc biomass caused higher initial soil respiration and N immobilization than fresh biomass. All treatments with cc incorporation showed increased N2O emission. Emitted N2O‐N consisted mainly of cc N (55%–57%) in treatments with fresh shoot biomass, whereas soil N was the main source of N2O (75%) in the treatment with fresh oil radish roots. Recovery of cc 15N was affected by crop compartment and pretreatment. At the end of the incubation, it was 17.5%–42.3% in soil NO3−, 0.1%–8.1% in microbial biomass N, and less than 0.23% of cc N was found in cumulative N2O emission.ConclusionThe incorporation of cc roots and shoots had different effects on N mobilization and immobilization processes and on the partitioning of cc N. These processes can be influenced significantly by pretreatment of the added plant biomass (dried vs. fresh).

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Nitrogen transformation as affected by decomposition of ¹⁵N‐labeled cover crop shoots and roots

Süß,

Kemmann,

Helfrich

et al. 2024

J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.

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Cover crop characteristics modulate amount and timing of nitrogen supply of fertilized sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) in temperate climate

Koch,

Grunwald,

Essich

et al. 2024

Can. J. Plant Sci.

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For temperate climate, there is little information on the effects cover crops grown in fall (CCs) on the nitrogen (N) supply for next year’s sugar beet (SB). Four field trials were conducted on silty soils to establish the CC N effect (Neff) compared to bare fallow separately for the periods sowing-summer and summer-autumn harvest. Biomass characteristics of radish (Raphanus sativus L.), spring vetch (Vicia sativa L.), saia oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.), and winter rye (Secale cereale L.) CCs before winter, soil mineral nitrogen in spring (SMN), and SB N accumulation and sugar yield (SY) were measured. In the period sowing-summer, characterized by a high SB N demand, Neff of overwintering, high biomass yielding rye CC was negative up to -50 kg N ha-1 at three site/years and varied around zero for the other CCs except vetch, for which Neff was positive. At SB autumn-harvest, Neff was negative up to -100 kg N ha-1 except for vetch in one trial. SY was lowest after rye CC. Regression analyses indicated a negative impact of CC biomass, C:N ratio and the difference in SMN between fallow (high SMN) and CCs (low SMN) on Neff. To conclude, if CCs yield a high amount of biomass surviving until spring and thus remove SMN from the soil which otherwise remains available for SB, early season mineralization of CC biomass N can be too low to ensure a N supply sufficient for maximum SB yield. Choosing leguminous CCs or early termination of CCs might alleviate this constraint.

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Winter cover crops decreased soil mineral N contents and increased soil organic C stocks and N2O emission

Cited by 2 publications

References 61 publications

Nitrogen transformation as affected by decomposition of ¹⁵N‐labeled cover crop shoots and roots

Nitrogen transformation as affected by decomposition of ¹⁵N‐labeled cover crop shoots and roots

Cover crop characteristics modulate amount and timing of nitrogen supply of fertilized sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) in temperate climate

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Winter cover crops decreased soil mineral N contents and increased soil organic C stocks and N2O emission

Cited by 2 publications

References 61 publications

Nitrogen transformation as affected by decomposition of 15N‐labeled cover crop shoots and roots

Nitrogen transformation as affected by decomposition of 15N‐labeled cover crop shoots and roots

Cover crop characteristics modulate amount and timing of nitrogen supply of fertilized sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) in temperate climate

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Product

Resources

About

Nitrogen transformation as affected by decomposition of ¹⁵N‐labeled cover crop shoots and roots

Nitrogen transformation as affected by decomposition of ¹⁵N‐labeled cover crop shoots and roots