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Net greenhouse gas balance with cover crops in semi-arid irrigated cropping systems.

ABSTRACT: Climate smart agriculture has been emphasized for mitigating anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yet the mitigation potential of individual management practices remain largely unexplored in semi-arid cropping systems. This study evaluated the effects of different winter cover crop mixtures on CO₂ and N₂O emissions, net GHG balance (GHG_net), greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI), yield-scaled GHG emissions, and soil properties in irrigated forage corn (Zea mays L.) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) rotations. Four cover crop treatments: (1) grasses, brassicas, and legumes mixture (GBL), (2) grasses and brassicas mixture (GB), (3) grasses and legumes mixture (GL), and (4) a no-cover crop (NCC) control, each replicated four times under corn and sorghum phase of the rotations, were tested in the semi-arid Southern Great Plains of USA. Results showed 5-10 times higher soil respiration with cover crop mixtures than NCC during the cover crop phase and no difference during the cash crop phase. The average N₂O-N emission in NCC was 44% lower than GL and 77% lower than GBL in corn and sorghum rotations. Cash crop yield was 13-30% greater in cover crop treatments than NCC, but treatment effects were not observed for GHG_net, yield-scaled emissions, and GHGI. Integrating cover crops could be a climate smart strategy for forage production in irrigated semi-arid agroecosystems.

SUBMITTER: Acharya P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9300742 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Energy and carbon (C) footprints of agricultural production practices have garnered high attention due to rising energy costs and increasing global warming. However, the contribution of conservation and regenerative farming practices, including cover cropping, on energy and C footprints have not yet been documented for cropping systems in arid and semi-arid regions. This study evaluated the energy and C footprint of cover crop integrated silage maize (Zea mays L.) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) production systems in the semi-arid region of the southwestern US. The treatments were mixtures of winter cover crops: i) grasses and legumes (GL), ii) grasses, brassicas, and legumes (GBL), iii) grasses and brassicas (GB), and iv) no cover crops (NCC) control for each crop production system. Results showed cover crops had 24.1-24.5% greater energy input than NCC. In silage maize rotation, energy output was 17-22% greater in GBL and GL than in NCC. In silage sorghum rotation, the energy output was 15-24% greater in all cover crops than in NCC. The resulting net energy was 16-21% greater in GBL and GL than in NCC under silage maize, while it was 18-24% greater in GBL and GB than in NCC under silage sorghum. In the silage maize system, the C-footprint per kg yield was not different among treatments, whereas in silage sorghum, it was 58% greater in GBL than in NCC. The benefit-to-cost ratio was greater than one for all treatments, but the additional revenue through C credit programs could make cover cropping a more feasible and beneficial approach, improving economic and environmental sustainability while producing silage crops. While the C footprint was crop rotation specific, cover cropping should be encouraged over crop-fallow systems to producers in semi-arid environments to reduce energy usage and increase C-credit benefits. Clear national and state policy on the C credit program will also enhance economic and environmental benefits by adopting cover cropping and other regenerative farming practices.

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Net greenhouse gas balance with cover crops in semi-arid irrigated cropping systems.

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