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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Impact Of Cover Crop Species Diversity On Soil Nutrient Availability And Crop Productivity, Amanda Kramer
Impact Of Cover Crop Species Diversity On Soil Nutrient Availability And Crop Productivity, Amanda Kramer
Masters Theses
Cover crops provide multiple environmental benefits that improve both soil and water quality; however, farmers only utilize them on approximately 5% of harvested U.S. cropland. Low adoption rates are attributed to yield impact concerns, seed and planting costs, and lack of advocacy. This study, which began in October 2019, assessed the effects of nitrogen rate and cover crop diversity on weed biomass, soil coverage, in-situ residue decomposition, soil nitrogen and phosphorus availability, and cash crop yield to better understand the costs and benefits of cover crop adoption at two locations in Tennessee (Milan and Spring Hill). Treatments were replicated 4 …
Long-Term Impacts Of Conservation Management Practices On Soil Carbon Storage, Stability, And Utilization Under Cotton Production In West Tennessee, Candace Brooke Wilson
Long-Term Impacts Of Conservation Management Practices On Soil Carbon Storage, Stability, And Utilization Under Cotton Production In West Tennessee, Candace Brooke Wilson
Masters Theses
Biogeochemical cycling of soil carbon (C) is heavily influenced by conservation agricultural (CA) practices. This study examined SOC stability under three CA practices: reduced nitrogen (N) fertilizer application rate, cover cropping, and zero-tillage implemented for 31 years. Respiration rates measured from a 602-day incubation period were fitted to a double-pool first order exponential model of SOC decomposition. The active [respired] SOC pool showed distinct differences between applications of reduced (34N kg ha-1 [-1]) and high fertilization rates (101N kg ha-1) combined with tillage, and suggest that high fertilizer applications with conventional tillage allocated more C into a …