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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Booneville, Arkansas » Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #398618
Research Project: Sustainable Small Farm and Organic Grass and Forage Production Systems for Livestock and Agroforestry

Location: Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center

Title: Effects of cover crops on soil thermal properties of a corn cropping system

Author
item MENDIS, SIDATH SUBODHA - University Of Missouri
item UDAWATTA, RANJITH - University Of Missouri
item ANDERSON, STEPHEN - University Of Missouri
item ANSARI, JAMSHID - University Of Missouri
item SALCEDA, MIGUEL - University Of Missouri

Submitted to: Soil Science Society of America Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2022
Publication Date: 4/11/2022
Citation: Mendis, S., Udawatta, R., Anderson, S.H., Ansari, J., Salceda, M. 2022. Effects of cover crops on soil thermal properties of a corn cropping system. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 86(5):1194-1205. https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20409.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20409

Interpretive Summary: Soil thermal properties determine longevity of soil carbon, microbial activities, and many other soil parameters. We evaluated differences in soil thermal parameters between two corn watersheds: one with and the other without cover crops. Findings of the study demonstrate that cover crops can improve soil thermal properties, reduce thermal fluctuations, and avoid extreme conditions. Therefore, cover crops can increase soil carbon accumulation and microbial activities which are important for improved nutrient cycling and water retention, and reduced water pollution.

Technical Abstract: Soil thermal properties play many major roles in a soil as they influence the soil temperature and define the soil microclimate, which regulates many soil health parameters as well as life cycles of soil biota. Although cover crops (CC) can affect soil thermal properties, they are one of the least studied areas. This study compared the effects of CC on soil thermal properties in a corn (Zea mays L.) cropping system at the Elsberry Plant Material Center–USDA inMissouri (USA). The study design consisted of (a) no-till CC (NC), (b) conventional till no CC (CN), (c) no-till no CC (NN), and (d) grass (G) treatments. The first CC establishment in theNC treatmentwas done in October 2019. Soil cores were collected in April 2021 from 0-to-40-cm depth at 10-cm increments (96 samples) and analyzed for volumetric heat capacity (Cv), soil thermal conductivity ('), soil thermal diffusivity (a), soil organic carbon (SOC), bulk density (BD), and volumetric water content ('). As per the results, NC did not significantly improve SOC, BD, or soil thermal properties, because the biomass accumulation by CC was not enough due to the lack of CC establishment duration. The G treatment showed significantly higher Cv and lower ' in several soil depths. The study outcomes suggested that long-term maintenance of CC with cropping systems are needed in quantifying the effects of CC on soil thermal properties.