Cover crop species have contrasting influence upon soil structural genesis and microbial community phenotype.

ABSTRACT: Cover crops (plants grown in an agricultural rotation between cash crops) can significantly improve soil quality via sequestering carbon, retaining nutrients, decreasing soil erosion, and maintaining belowground biodiversity. However, little is known about the effects of such plants upon soil structure. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of four species typically used as cover crops and which have contrasting root architecture (viz. clover, black oat, phacelia, tillage radish) on soil structural genesis and the associated modification of microbial community structure in a clay soil. The four plant species were grown in a replicated pot experiment with sieved soil (<2 mm), with unplanted soil as control for 8 weeks. X-ray Computed Tomography was used to quantify the formation of

SUBMITTER: Bacq-Labreuil A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6522496 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature