Challenges and Opportunities for Cover Crop Mediated Soil Water Use Efficiency Enhancements in Temperate Rain-Fed Cropping Systems: A Review

Abstract

Soils are at the nexus of the atmospheric, geological, and hydrologic cycles, providing invaluable ecosystem services associated with water provision. The immeasurably vital role of water provision is of urgent concern given the intertwined and interdependent challenges of growing human populations, increased agricultural demands, climate change, and freshwater scarcity. Adapting temperate rain-fed cropping systems to meet the challenges of the 21st century will require considerable advancements in our understanding of the interdependent biophysical processes governing carbon and soil-water dynamics. Soil carbon and water are inextricably linked, and agricultural management practices must take this complexity into account if crop productivity is to be maintained and improved. Given the widespread, intensive use of agricultural soils worldwide, it stands to reason that readily adaptable crop management practices can and must play a central role in both soil carbon and water management. This review details challenges and opportunities for utilizing cover crop management to enhance soil carbon stocks and soil water use efficiency in rain-fed cropping systems. A review of the current body of knowledge shows that cover crops can play a more prominent role in soil carbon and water management; however, the more widespread use of cover crops may be hindered by the inconsistencies of experimental data demonstrating cover crop effects on soil water retention, as well as cover crop effect inconsistencies arising from complex interactions between soil carbon, water, and land management. Although these gaps in our collective knowledge are not insignificant, they do present substantial opportunities for further research at both mechanistic and landscape-system scales.

Effects of agricultural land management practices on crop production and household income in Ojoje, southern Ethiopia

“…An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to check whether there is a statistically significant variance reported in crop production and households' income between treated and non-treated plots. In relation to this, Moore (2023) indicated that analysis of variance (ANOVA) enables a comparison of variances between treatment and control units. Similarly, ANOVA was applied to ascertain the variation between the control and one or more treatment groups (Tadikamalla et al, 2003;Degfe et al, 2023).…”

Winter cover crop performance in the Southern Piedmont region of South Carolina

“…When comparing the soil VWC in relation to soil temperature and percent cover, no distinct pattern was observed. The absence of a clear connection may stem from the intricate relationship between CCs and soil water content (Moore, 2023). Additionally, environmental factors such as location, soil, and climate conditions can influence the relationship between CCs and soil water content (Wang et al, 2021).…”

Editorial: Continuous living cover: adaptive strategies for putting regenerative agriculture into practice

“…Adding to the functional biodiversity of cropping systems has been shown to enhance productivity (Franco et al, 2015), yield stability (Khan and McVay, 2019;Franco et al, 2021b), and substantially increase soil health metrics (McDaniel et al, 2014;Costa et al, 2018;Sprunger et al, 2020). Articles in this Research Topic also highlight how functional biodiversity can increase crop pest suppression [Brockmueller et al; Bruce et al(b)], retain nutrients (Wepking et al), and augment soil water retention (Nichols et al, 2022;Moore, 2023).…”