Journal
JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
Volume 36, Issue 4, Pages 423-439Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS INC
DOI: 10.1080/10440046.2011.627991
Keywords
cover crop; decomposition; legume; non-legume; organic carbon; soil fertility; bioculture; monoculture
Categories
Funding
- USDA-ARS
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Plant biomass production associated with soil organic carbon (C) accumulation is a critical challenge for sustainable agriculture development because soil quality degradation and organic carbon pool depletion have become a concern under some circumstances. To elucidate cover crops and their synergetic effects in biomass production and soil organic C improvement, legume and non-legume winter/summer cover crops, in mono-and biculture (mixture of legume/non-legume) were evaluated in the field and controlled (growth chamber) conditions. Under field conditions, biculture of sunn hemp and sorghum sudangrass produced 24.1 Mg ha(-1) in contrast to 20.1 and 2.9 Mg ha(-1) for each one alone; and biculture of okra and cowpea reached as much as 11.5 Mg ha(-1) in contrast to 2.0 and 5.3 Mg ha(-1) for each one in monoculture. After the growth of winter followed by summer cover crops, the soil organic C content increased with substantial quantities of plant biomass returned to the soil. The results suggest that both summer and winter cover crops demonstrate a promising potential in biomass C accumulation, thereby, can play an important role in soil fertility improvement to benefit the sustainable development of agriculture when appropriate types and combinations are selected.
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