Supplemental information for "Effectiveness of Cover Crops on Water Pollutant Reduction from Agricultural Areas"

10.13031/14519094.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Reid Christianson ◽

Jordan Fox ◽

Neely Law ◽

Carol Wong

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Conservation Practice ◽

Additional Information ◽

Pertinent Data ◽

Pollutant Reduction ◽

Study Component ◽

A Site ◽

Water Pollutant ◽

Agricultural Areas

The Supplemental Material provides additional information that may not have explicitly been referenced in the associated article. These additional data add substance to the discussion and are intended to add transparency. The dataset is in spreadsheet form and includes U.S.-specific studies reporting total nitrogen, nitrate, total phosphorus, phosphate, and sediment or erosion concentrations or losses from control and cover crop field plot studies. Where pertinent data were not reported in tabular format, DataThief software was used. Some aggregation was done on these data to appropriately bin them into grass, legume, brassica, and mixed categories, based on the type of cover crop evaluated. Further loss reduction calculations were done based on reported concentrations or losses from the literature reviewed in a site-year approach, where possible. Because of this, the resulting percent loss reductions reported here may be slightly different from those reported in the original source. Further, each study was aggregated to a study component average (e.g., legume treatment, which may have included more than one type of legume) in an attempt to represent the study findings while reducing the variability associated with the site-year approach. These data were used to develop a series of correlations to evaluate trends associated with cover crop use in the U.S. to support Conservation Practice Standard 340. Data not reported by a given study were left blank, and calculations based on missing data were represented with #N/A.

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The influence of the seasons: how the agricultural calendar impacts farmer perceptions of cover crops

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems ◽

10.1017/s1742170521000521 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Margaret Beetstra ◽

Robyn Wilson ◽

Eric Toman

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Conservation Practice ◽

Individual Level ◽

Practice Adoption ◽

Wide Range ◽

Research Findings ◽

Time Of Year ◽

Conducting Research ◽

Conservation Practice Adoption

Abstract Across the Midwest, substantial funding and personnel time have been allocated to encourage farmers to adopt a wide range of conservation practices but adoption rates for many of these practices remain low. Prior research focuses largely on the influence of individual-level factors (e.g., beliefs, attitudes) on conservation practice adoption rather than on contextual factors (e.g., seasons) that might also play a role. In the present study, we considered seasonal variation and its potential influence on farmer cover crop decision-making. We first established how farmer temporal and financial resources fluctuate across the year and then compared the annual agricultural decision and cover crop decision calendars. We also considered farmer cover crop perceptions and likely behaviors. To study this, we surveyed the same Midwestern farmers in the spring, summer and winter within a 12-month period. Results indicated that farmers were generally the least busy and the most financially comfortable in the winter months. Moreover, farmers perceived the benefits of cover crops differently throughout the year. These results indicate that seasonality can be a confounding factor which should be considered when designing and conducting research and farmer engagement. As researchers, it is our responsibility to understand the specific calendar experienced by our sample and how that may influence responses so we can examine theory-supported factors of interest rather than seasonality as a driver of farmer responses. As practitioners, it is important to use research findings to engage with farmers about conservation in a way that prioritizes communicating about the most salient aspects of the practice at the time of year when farmers will be most receptive.

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A review of economic considerations for cover crops as a conservation practice

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems ◽

10.1017/s1742170517000278 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 34 (1) ◽

pp. 62-76 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Jason S. Bergtold ◽

Steven Ramsey ◽

Lucas Maddy ◽

Jeffery R. Williams

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Production Risk ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Conservation Practice ◽

Farm Business ◽

The Impact ◽

Economic Considerations

AbstractOver the past few decades, farmers have increasingly integrated cover crops into their cropping systems. Cover-crop benefits can help a farmer to achieve sustainability or reduce negative environmental externalities, such as soil erosion or chemical runoff. However, the impact on farm economics will likely be the strongest incentive to adopt cover crops. These impacts can include farm profits, cash crop yields or both. This paper provides a review of cover-crop adoption, production, risk and policy considerations from an economic perspective. These dimensions are examined through a review of cover-crop literature. This review was written to provide an overview of cover crops and their impacts on the farm business and the environment, especially with regard to economic considerations. Through increasing knowledge about cover crops, the intent here is to inform producers contemplating adoption and policy makers seeking to encourage adoption.

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COVER CROPS IN THE OFF-SEASON IN THE WEED MANAGEMENT AT NOTILLAGE AREA

Revista Caatinga ◽

10.1590/1983-21252021v34n106rc ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 34 (1) ◽

pp. 50-57

Author(s):

FERNANDO COUTO DE ARAÚJO ◽

ADRIANO STEPHAN NASCENTE ◽

JULIANA LOURENÇO NUNES GUIMARÃES ◽

VINÍCIUS SILVA SOUSA ◽

MARCO ANTÔNIO MOREIRA DE FREITAS ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Weed Management ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Dry Matter ◽

Pennisetum Glaucum ◽

Pigeon Pea ◽

Weed Species ◽

Agricultural Areas ◽

Main Growth ◽

Crotalaria Spectabilis

ABSTRACT Cover crops can provide suppression of weeds and together with chemical control make the proper management of weeds in agricultural areas. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of cover crop cultivation during the off-season on weed development in a no-tillage area. The experimental design was in randomized blocks scheme with six treatments and four replications. The treatments were: fallow (control), millet (Pennisetum glaucum) + crotalaria (Crotalaria spectabilis + C. juncea + C. ochroleuca), millet + pigeon pea (Cajanus cajans), millet + Urochloa ruziziensis, millet + Urochloa ruziziensis + pigeon pea and millet + buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum. The evaluations were done at 30, 75 and 225 days after sowing of the cover crops (DAS). The main growth weed species in the area were Cenchrus echinathus, Euphorbia heterophylla and Digitaria insularis. Fallow treatment showed greater number of weed species with density of 184 plants m-2, 9.0 species and with 527.8 g m-2 of dry matter mass at 225 DAS. In all treatments verified reduction in the density and mass of weeds dry matter compared to the fallow, with average of 30 plants m-2, 5.8 species and 7.9 g m-2 at 225 DAS, respectively. The use of cover crops is an important strategy for weed control in agricultural areas.

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Cover crops use in Midwestern US agriculture: perceived benefits and net returns

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems ◽

10.1017/s1742170518000194 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 35 (1) ◽

pp. 38-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Alejandro Plastina ◽

Fangge Liu ◽

Fernando Miguez ◽

Sarah Carlson

Keyword(s):

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Crop Production ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Cropping System ◽

Cost Share ◽

Conservation Practice ◽

Net Returns ◽

Soil Sustainability ◽

Pros And Cons

AbstractDespite being generally accepted as a promising conservation practice to reduce nitrate pollution and promote soil sustainability, cover crop adoption in Midwestern US agriculture is low. Based on focus groups, surveys and partial budgets, we calculated the annual net returns to cover crop use for farmers in Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota; and elicited farmers’ perceptions about the pros and cons of incorporating cover crops to their row cropping systems. The novelty of our methodology resides in comparing each farmer's practices in the portion of their cropping system with cover crops (typically small), against their practices in the other portion of their cropping system without cover crops. The resulting comparisons, accounting for farmer heterogeneity, are more robust than the typical effects calculated by comparing indicators across cover crop users and unrelated non-adopters. Our results highlight the complicated nature of integrating cover crops into the crop production system and show that cover crops affect whole farm profitability through several channels besides establishment and termination costs. Despite farmers’ positive perceptions about cover crops and the availability of cost-share programs, calculated annual net returns to cover crops use were negative for most participants.

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Supplemental data for "Effectiveness of Conservation Crop Rotation on Water Pollutant Reduction from Agricultural Areas"

10.13031/13924703.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lydia Koropeckyj-Cox ◽

Reid Christianson ◽

Yongping Yuan

Keyword(s):

Crop Rotation ◽

Journal Article ◽

Pollutant Reduction ◽

Water Pollutant ◽

Agricultural Areas

This file contains the appendix and supplemental material, including data, used in the journal article.

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Supplemental data for "Effectiveness of Conservation Crop Rotation on Water Pollutant Reduction from Agricultural Areas"

10.13031/13924703 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lydia Koropeckyj-Cox ◽

Reid Christianson ◽

Yongping Yuan

Keyword(s):

Crop Rotation ◽

Journal Article ◽

Pollutant Reduction ◽

Water Pollutant ◽

Agricultural Areas

This file contains the appendix and supplemental material, including data, used in the journal article.

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Cover Crop Contributions to Improve the Soil Nitrogen and Carbon Sequestration in Almond Orchards (SW Spain)

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11020387 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 387

Author(s):

Miguel A. Repullo-Ruibérriz de Torres ◽

Manuel Moreno-García ◽

Rafaela Ordóñez-Fernández ◽

Antonio Rodríguez-Lizana ◽

Belén Cárceles Rodríguez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Soil Erosion ◽

Soil Nitrogen ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Nitrate Content ◽

Sw Spain ◽

Sequestration Potential ◽

Almond Orchards ◽

Shallow Soils

Almond (Prunus dulcis Mill. [D.A. Webb]) is the third most widely spread crop in Spain and has traditionally been cultivated in marginal areas and shallow soils under rainfed conditions. However, it recently has been progressively introduced in flat irrigated areas. The implementation of cover crops in the inter-rows of woody crops has been proven as a suitable strategy to reduce the runoff and soil erosion but they also can boost soil quality and health. A field experiment was conducted during two-monitoring seasons to examine the soil nitrogen and carbon sequestration potential of three seeded cover crops [barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth), and a mixture of 65% barley and 35% vetch] and a control of spontaneous flora in irrigated almond orchards (SW Spain). Here, we show that barley provided the highest biomass amount, followed by mixture covers, vetch, and the control treatment. Also, vetch covered the soil faster in the growing stage, but its residues were decomposed easier than barley and mixture treatments during the decomposition period after mowing, providing less soil protection when the risk of water erosion with autumn rainfall is high. On the other hand, vetch improved soil nitrate content by over 35% with respect to barley and mixture treatments at 0–20 cm soil depth throughout the studied period. In addition, a greater carbon input to the soil was determined in the barley plot. That is, the mixture and barley cover crops had higher potential for carbon sequestration, augmenting the soil organic carbon by more than 1.0 Mg ha−1 during the study period. Thus, taking into consideration the findings of the present experiment, the establishment of a seeded cover crop would be more advisable than spontaneous flora to mitigate soil erosion, enhancing soil fertility and carbon sequestration in irrigated almond plantations in Mediterranean semi-arid regions.

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Quantifying Root-Soil Interactions in Cover Crop Systems: A Review

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture11030218 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 218

Author(s):

Cameron M. Ogilvie ◽

Waqar Ashiq ◽

Hiteshkumar B. Vasava ◽

Asim Biswas

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Soil Formation ◽

Soil Physical Properties ◽

Nutrient Losses ◽

Complex Interactions ◽

Soil Ecosystems

Plant roots are an integral part of soil ecosystems and contribute to various services, including carbon and nutrient cycling, weathering, and soil formation. They also modify soil physical properties (e.g., soil water content, pore size distribution, and bulk density) and impact subsequent crops’ growth. Cover crops have been reported to improve soil and environmental quality by reducing nutrient losses, improving soil water content, and increasing soil organic matter. Understanding the complex interactions between cover crop roots and soil (RS) is of utmost importance. However, cover crop RS interactions have not been critically reviewed. In this article, we investigated the nature of cover crop physical RS interactions and explored the emerging technologies for their study. We also assessed technologies that may be readily applied to the study of physical RS interactions in cover crop systems and discussed ways to improve related research in the future.

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Organic Farming and Cover-Crop Management Reduce Pest Predation in Austrian Vineyards

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects12030220 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 220

Author(s):

Jo Marie Reiff ◽

Sebastian Kolb ◽

Martin H. Entling ◽

Thomas Herndl ◽

Stefan Möth ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Farming ◽

Pest Control ◽

Cover Crops ◽

Cover Crop ◽

Management Practices ◽

Integrated Management ◽

Lobesia Botrana ◽

Management Options ◽

Natural Pest Control ◽

Predation Rates

Habitat simplification and intensive use of pesticides are main drivers of global arthropod declines and are, thus, decreasing natural pest control. Organic farming, complex landscapes, and local vineyard management practices such as implementation of flower-rich cover-crop mixtures may be a promising approach to enhance predator abundance and, therefore, natural pest control. We examined the effect of organic versus integrated management, cover-crop diversity in the vineyard inter-rows, and landscape composition on the natural pest control of Lobesia botrana eggs and pupae. Predation of L. botrana pupae was reduced by organic farming and species-poor cover-crops by about 10%. Predation rates of L. botrana eggs did not differ significantly in any of the studied management options. Dominant predators were earwigs (Forficulidae), bush crickets (Tettigoniidae), and ants (Formicidae). Negative effects of organic viticulture are most likely related to the negative nontarget effects on arthropods related to the frequent sulfur and copper applications in combination with the avoidance of strongly damaging insecticides by integrated winegrowers. While a 10% difference in predation rates on a single pest stage is unlikely to have strong practical implications, our results show that the assumed effectiveness of environmentally friendly agriculture needs to be evaluated for specific crops and regions.

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