Full-Season Cover Crops and Their Traits That Promote Agroecosystem Services
Non-marketable crops are increasingly being used as a tool to promote agroecosystem services and sustainable agriculture. Nevertheless, crops vary greatly in the traits by which they capture resources and influence the local ecosystem. Here we report on the traits and associated soil microbial commu...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-08-01
|
| Series: | Agriculture |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/9/830 |
| _version_ | 1797520638782472192 |
|---|---|
| author | Cameron Wagg Aafke van Erk Erica Fava Louis-Pierre Comeau T. Fatima Mitterboeck Claudia Goyer Sheng Li Andrew McKenzie-Gopsill Aaron Mills |
| author_facet | Cameron Wagg Aafke van Erk Erica Fava Louis-Pierre Comeau T. Fatima Mitterboeck Claudia Goyer Sheng Li Andrew McKenzie-Gopsill Aaron Mills |
| author_sort | Cameron Wagg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Non-marketable crops are increasingly being used as a tool to promote agroecosystem services and sustainable agriculture. Nevertheless, crops vary greatly in the traits by which they capture resources and influence the local ecosystem. Here we report on the traits and associated soil microbial communities that relate to aboveground biomass production, nutrient capture, weed suppression, erosion control and building particulate organic matter of 22 different full-season cover crops. All agroecosystem services were positively correlated with maximum canopy height and leaf area. Rooting density was positively associated with indices of bacterial diversity. While some legumes produced the greatest standing N and P in aboveground biomass, they were also poor at capturing soil nitrate and promoted high levels of potential plant fungal pathogens. Conversely, Brassicaceae crops had the lowest levels of potential plant fungal pathogens, but also suppressed saprophytic fungi and rhizobia. Thus, not all crops are equal in their ability to promote all agroecosystem services, and while some crops may be ideal for promoting a specific agroecosystem service, this could result in a trade-off with another. Nonetheless, our study demonstrates that plant functional traits are informative for the selection of crops for promoting agroecosystem services. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:59:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e0331b0ac00747728465509b3083d787 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0472 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:59:31Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj.art-e0331b0ac00747728465509b3083d7872023-11-22T11:35:15ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722021-08-0111983010.3390/agriculture11090830Full-Season Cover Crops and Their Traits That Promote Agroecosystem ServicesCameron Wagg0Aafke van Erk1Erica Fava2Louis-Pierre Comeau3T. Fatima Mitterboeck4Claudia Goyer5Sheng Li6Andrew McKenzie-Gopsill7Aaron Mills8Fredericton Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 850 Lincoln Rd., Fredericton, NB E3B 4Z7, CanadaFredericton Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 850 Lincoln Rd., Fredericton, NB E3B 4Z7, CanadaFredericton Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 850 Lincoln Rd., Fredericton, NB E3B 4Z7, CanadaFredericton Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 850 Lincoln Rd., Fredericton, NB E3B 4Z7, CanadaFredericton Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 850 Lincoln Rd., Fredericton, NB E3B 4Z7, CanadaFredericton Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 850 Lincoln Rd., Fredericton, NB E3B 4Z7, CanadaFredericton Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 850 Lincoln Rd., Fredericton, NB E3B 4Z7, CanadaCharlottetown Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 440 University Ave, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7Z5, CanadaCharlottetown Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 440 University Ave, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7Z5, CanadaNon-marketable crops are increasingly being used as a tool to promote agroecosystem services and sustainable agriculture. Nevertheless, crops vary greatly in the traits by which they capture resources and influence the local ecosystem. Here we report on the traits and associated soil microbial communities that relate to aboveground biomass production, nutrient capture, weed suppression, erosion control and building particulate organic matter of 22 different full-season cover crops. All agroecosystem services were positively correlated with maximum canopy height and leaf area. Rooting density was positively associated with indices of bacterial diversity. While some legumes produced the greatest standing N and P in aboveground biomass, they were also poor at capturing soil nitrate and promoted high levels of potential plant fungal pathogens. Conversely, Brassicaceae crops had the lowest levels of potential plant fungal pathogens, but also suppressed saprophytic fungi and rhizobia. Thus, not all crops are equal in their ability to promote all agroecosystem services, and while some crops may be ideal for promoting a specific agroecosystem service, this could result in a trade-off with another. Nonetheless, our study demonstrates that plant functional traits are informative for the selection of crops for promoting agroecosystem services.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/9/830cover cropsmultifunctionalityplant-soil interactionssoil healthweed suppressionerosion control |
| spellingShingle | Cameron Wagg Aafke van Erk Erica Fava Louis-Pierre Comeau T. Fatima Mitterboeck Claudia Goyer Sheng Li Andrew McKenzie-Gopsill Aaron Mills Full-Season Cover Crops and Their Traits That Promote Agroecosystem Services Agriculture cover crops multifunctionality plant-soil interactions soil health weed suppression erosion control |
| title | Full-Season Cover Crops and Their Traits That Promote Agroecosystem Services |
| title_full | Full-Season Cover Crops and Their Traits That Promote Agroecosystem Services |
| title_fullStr | Full-Season Cover Crops and Their Traits That Promote Agroecosystem Services |
| title_full_unstemmed | Full-Season Cover Crops and Their Traits That Promote Agroecosystem Services |
| title_short | Full-Season Cover Crops and Their Traits That Promote Agroecosystem Services |
| title_sort | full season cover crops and their traits that promote agroecosystem services |
| topic | cover crops multifunctionality plant-soil interactions soil health weed suppression erosion control |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/9/830 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cameronwagg fullseasoncovercropsandtheirtraitsthatpromoteagroecosystemservices AT aafkevanerk fullseasoncovercropsandtheirtraitsthatpromoteagroecosystemservices AT ericafava fullseasoncovercropsandtheirtraitsthatpromoteagroecosystemservices AT louispierrecomeau fullseasoncovercropsandtheirtraitsthatpromoteagroecosystemservices AT tfatimamitterboeck fullseasoncovercropsandtheirtraitsthatpromoteagroecosystemservices AT claudiagoyer fullseasoncovercropsandtheirtraitsthatpromoteagroecosystemservices AT shengli fullseasoncovercropsandtheirtraitsthatpromoteagroecosystemservices AT andrewmckenziegopsill fullseasoncovercropsandtheirtraitsthatpromoteagroecosystemservices AT aaronmills fullseasoncovercropsandtheirtraitsthatpromoteagroecosystemservices |