Overview

Cover Crops and Soil Ecosystem Services A comprehensive resource on cover crops and their role in soil ecosystems Cover crops are a reemerging strategy to improve and maintain the services that soils provide. They can have an enormous affect on agricultural outcomes, preventing soil erosion, restoring vital soil nutrients, sequestering C from the atmosphere, and more. The successful management and use of cover crops is therefore critical to ensure soil ecosystem services are maintained or improved not only to meet our demands for food, fuel, fiber, and feed but also to reduce pollution and improve the soil. Cover Crops and Soil Ecosystem Services provides a heavily researched and highly readable introduction to cover crops and their role in soil ecosystems. It ranges from a detailed discussion of cover crop biomass production to a thorough treatment of soil ecosystems and their vulnerabilities. The result is an essential guide to a critical area of agricultural science. Cover Crops and Soil Ecosystem Services readers will also find: Detailed treatment of cover crop biomass production, soil erosion, greenhouse gas fluxes, nitrate leaching, soil C sequestration, and more Discussion of emerging issues, including extreme weather events and the economics of cover crop farming Wide-ranging summaries of interdisciplinary soil and cover crop research Cover Crops and Soil Ecosystem Services is a useful reference for students and researchers at all levels of study relating to cover crop agriculture.

Full Product Details

Author:   Humberto Blanco (University of Nebraska, USA)
Publisher:   American Society of Agronomy
Imprint:   American Society of Agronomy
Weight:   0.760kg
ISBN:  

9780891186397

ISBN 10:   0891186395
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   30 May 2023
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Cover Crops and Soil Ecosystem Services 12 1.1. Cover Crops 12 1.2. Soil Ecosystem Services 13 1.3. Cover Crops and Soil Ecosystem Services 15 1.4. Summary 16 1.5. References 17 Cover Crop Biomass Production 24 2.1. Aboveground Biomass Production 24 2.1.1. Temperate Regions 24 2.1.2. Semiarid Temperate Regions 25 2.1.3. Tropical and Subtropical Regions 25 2.2. Belowground Biomass Production 25 2.3. Threshold Level of Biomass Production 26 2.4. Management Practices that Affect Biomass Production 27 2.4.1. Planting Early 27 2.4.1.1. Interseeding 27 2.4.1.2. Planting After Summer Crop Harvest 28 2.4.1.3. Planting after Corn Silage or Short-Growing Season Crop Harvest 28 2.4.2. Terminating Late 29 2.4.3. Cover Crop Mixes 29 2.4.4. Seeding Rate 30 2.4.5. Planting Method 30 2.4.6. Tillage and Cropping Systems 30 2.4.7. Soil Texture and Number of Years in Cover Crops 31 2.4.8. Irrigation and Fertilization 32 2.5. Summary 33 2.6. References 34 Soil Health 49 3.1. Soil Health 49 3.2. Cover Crops and Soil Health 49 3.2.1. Soil Physical Properties 50 3.2.1.1. Soil Compaction 50 3.2.1.2. Soil Structure 51 3.2.1.3. Water Infiltration 52 3.2.1.4. Temperature 52 3.2.2. Soil Chemical Properties 53 3.2.3. Soil Biological Properties 54 3.2.3.1. Microorganisms 54 3.2.3.2. Macroorganisms 54 3.3. Interconnectedness of Soil Health Parameters 55 3.4. Managing Soil Health 56 3.4.1. Biomass Production 56 3.4.2. Time after Cover Crop Introduction 57 3.4.3. Cover Crop Species and Mixes 57 3.4.4. Tillage System 58 3.4.5. Initial Soil Condition 58 3.5. Summary 59 3.6. References 60 Water Erosion 69 4.1. Runoff 69 4.2. Sediment Loss 70 4.3. Nutrient Loss 71 4.4. Soil Carbon Loss 71 4.5. A Leading Factor of Water Erosion: Biomass Production 72 4.6. Cover Crops and Erosion-Prone Systems 73 4.6.1. Low-biomass Producing Cropping Systems 73 4.6.2. Corn Silage and Seed Corn 73 4.6.3. Crop Residue Removal 74 4.6.4. Orchard Crops 74 4.7. Summary 75 4.8. References 76 Wind Erosion 84 5.1. Soil Loss 84 5.2. Soil Erodibility 85 5.3. Managing Wind Erosion 86 5.3.1. Biomass Production 86 5.3.2. Species 87 5.3.3. Growth Stage and Seeding Rate 88 5.3.4. Crop and Tillage Systems 88 5.4. Summary 89 5.5. References 90 Nutrient Losses 96 6.1. Nutrient Leaching 97 6.2. Dissolved Nutrients in Runoff 98 6.3. Nutrient Release from Cover Crops 99 6.4. Management Implications 100 6.5. Nutrient Stratification 100 6.5. Summary 101 6.6. References 102 Soil Gas Emissions 107 7.1. Carbon Dioxide 107 7.2. Nitrous Oxide 108 7.3. Methane 108 7.4. Factors Affecting Soil Gas Emissions 109 7.4.1. Cover Crop Species 109 7.4.2. Biomass Production 109 7.4.3. Nitrogen Fertilization 110 7.4.4. Tillage and Cropping System 111 7.4.5. Measurement Time 112 7.4.6. Soil Texture and Climate 112 7.6. Summary 113 7.7. References 114 Carbon Sequestration 118 8.1. Rates of Carbon Sequestration 118 8.2. Topsoil versus Subsoil C Sequestration 119 8.3. Managing Carbon Sequestration 121 8.3.1. Biomass Production 121 8.3.2. Cover Crop Species and Mixes 121 8.3.4. Years after Cover Crop Adoption 122 8.3.5. Initial Soil Carbon level 123 8.3.6. Tillage Systems 124 8.3.7. Soil Texture and Topography 124 8.3.8. Topographic Characteristics 125 8.3.9. Climate 125 8.4. Cropping System Carbon Footprint 126 8.5. Strategies to Enhance Cover Crop Potential to Sequester Carbon 126 8.6. Summary 127 8.7. References 128 Soil Water 136 9.1. High Precipitation Regions 136 9.2. Low Precipitation Regions 137 9.3. Mechanisms of Soil Water Storage with Cover Crops 137 9.4. Water Management 139 9.4.1. Biomass Production 139 9.4.2. Timing of Cover Crop Termination 140 9.4.3. Tillage System 140 9.4.4. Soil Texture 141 9.6. Summary 142 9.7. References 143 Weed Management 149 10.1. Weed Suppression 149 10.2. Managing Weeds 150 10.2.1. Biomass Production and Surface Cover 150 10.2.2. Cover Crop Species and Mixes 151 10.2.3. Tillage System 153 10.2.5. Climate 153 10.3. Summary 154 10.4. References 155 Soil Fertility 158 11.1. Organic Matter 158 11.2. Nitrogen 159 11.2.1 Nitrogen Scavenging 159 11.2.2. Reduction of N Losses 159 11.2.3. Nitrogen Fixation 160 11.3. Phosphorus 161 11.4. Other Nutrients 162 11.5. Soil pH 162 11.6. Cation Exchange Capacity 163 11.7. Carbon:Nitrogen Ratio 164 11.8. Summary 165 11.9. References 166 Crop Yields 171 12.1. Crop Yields 171 12.2. Climate 172 12.2.1. Cool and Warm Climates 172 12.2.2. Water-Limited Regions 172 12.3. Factors Affecting Crop Production 172 12.3.1. Cover Crop Species 172 12.3.2. Nitrogen Fertilization 173 12.3.3. Biomass Production 173 12.3.4. Planting Time and Method 174 12.3.5. Termination Timing 175 12.3.6. Cover Crop Mixes 175 12.3.7. Years after Cover Crop Adoption 176 12.3.8. Tillage Systems 176 12.3.9. Soil Texture 176 12.4. Summary 177 12.5. References 178 Grazing and Harvesting 182 13.1. Grazing 182 13.1.1. Soil Compaction 182 13.1.3. Soil C Dynamics and Sequestration 184 13.1.4. Crop Yields 184 13.2. Managing Grazing Impacts 185 13.2.1. Amount of Biomass Removal 185 13.2.2. Stocking rate 185 13.2.3. Years under Grazing 186 13.2.4. Tillage 186 13.2.5. Soil Water Content 187 13.3. Harvesting 187 13.4. Grazing and Harvesting: An Added Benefit from Cover Crops? 188 13.5. Summary 189 13.6. References 190 Economics 200 14.1. Economics of Cover Crops 200 14.1.1. Grazing and Harvesting 201 14.1.2. Weed Suppression 202 14.1.3. Nitrogen Credit 203 14.1.4. Soil Carbon Credit 203 14.1.5. Crop Residue Harvesting 204 14.1.5. Valuation of Other Ecosystem Services 204 14.2. Site-Specificity of Economic Benefits 205 14.3. Summary 206 14.4. References 207 Adaptation to Extreme Weather 212 15.1. Droughts 212 15.2. Floods 213 15.3. Precipitation Extremes 214 15.4. Dust storms 216 15.5. Temperature Extremes 216 15.6. Soil Resilience 217 15.7. Summary 219 15.8. References 220 Opportunities, Challenges, and Future of Cover Crops 226 16.1. Opportunities 226 16.1.1. Ecosystem Services 226 16.1.2. Biomass Production 227 16.1.3. Economics 227 16.1.4. Fluctuating Climates 228 16.2. Challenges 228 16.2.1. Ecosystem Services 229 16.2.1.1. Biomass Production 229 16.2.1.2. Soil Properties 229 16.2.1.5. Crop Yields 231 16.2.1.6. Economics 231 16.2.1.7. Fluctuating Climates 232 16.3. Remaining Questions 232 16.4. The Future of Cover Crops 234 16.5. Summary 235 16.6. References 236 Appendix I 242

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Author Information

Humberto Blanco is Professor of Soil Management and Applied Soil Physics in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA.

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