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Cover crop mixtures including legume produce ecosystem services of nitrate capture and green manuring: assessment combining experimentation and modelling

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Abstract

Background and aims

During the fallow period, non-legume cover crop species can capture mineral nitrogen (N) and thus decrease nitrate leaching, whereas legume cover crop species can provide a green manuring service that increases N availability for the subsequent crop. The aim of our study was to investigate the ability of bispecific mixtures to simultaneously produce these two services of N management in relation to their interspecific interactions.

Methods

Three field experiments were conducted at contrasting sites from summer to autumn to evaluate 25 mixtures and 10 sole crops. We measured biomass, N acquisition, C:N ratio and soil mineral N. Ecosystem services were assessed using both experimental data and simulation model predictions.

Results

Overall, prediction of N mineralized from cover crop residues was significantly higher for mixtures than for non-legume sole crops. Predictions of nitrate leached after mixtures did not differ significantly from those after non-legume sole crops and remained significantly lower than those under bare soil, especially for mixtures with turnip rape which benefitted greatly from being in mixtures.

Conclusions

Some of the mixtures provided a choice of compromises between the two ecosystem services, which helps define solutions for adapting mixture choice according to the site’s soil and climate characteristics and to fallow period management.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Arvalis–Institut du Végétal, the Midi-Pyrénées Region, the UMR AGIR of INRA and the French National Research Agency (project ANR-09-STRA-06; MicMac-design, Programme STRA 2009). The authors would like to thank M. Labarrère and L. Bossut for their efficient technical help and A. Gavaland, P. Bataillon and D. Campergue at the INRA Auzeville experimental unit for technical assistance. We also thank E. Masson, M. Moquet, V. Bouetel, D. Millet and S. Lair at the Arvalis Bignan research site and Y. Pousset, J. Pauget and A. Authier at the Arvalis Lyon research site. We thank M.L. and M.S. Corson for improving the English in the text.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INRA, UMR 1248 AGIR, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France

    Hélène Tribouillois & Eric Justes

  2. ARVALIS-Institut du Végétal, Station Expérimentale de La Jaillière, 44370, La Chapelle Saint-Sauveur, France

    Jean-Pierre Cohan

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  1. Hélène Tribouillois
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  2. Jean-Pierre Cohan
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  3. Eric Justes
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Correspondence to Hélène Tribouillois.

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Tribouillois, H., Cohan, JP. & Justes, E. Cover crop mixtures including legume produce ecosystem services of nitrate capture and green manuring: assessment combining experimentation and modelling. Plant Soil 401, 347–364 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2734-8

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