Review: Cover Crops and their Impact

Now that you’ve been introduced to cover crops and their impact on soil conservation, take a few moments to review what you have learned.

Tap or hover over each of the cards below.

Carbon Inlet

  • Has 4 parts
  • Parts 1-3:
  • ⅓ of carbon produced is in grain
  • ⅓ of carbon produced is in above-ground residue
  • ⅓ of carbon is in root matter
  • Part 4:
  • When a green plant is in its beginning stages, it will give off carbon and sugar as it establishes its relationship with the microbes

Erosion Control

  • Live crop biomass brings in CO2
  • Dead crop residue gives off CO2
  • Both provide a protective blanket of cover for a crop

Builds Soil Aggregates & Pore Spaces

  • We need to constantly build soil aggregates
  • Aggregates and pore spaces provide an entrance for air, water, and CO2

Plant Diversity

  • Plants grow, develop and survive through their primary metabolism and specialized metabolism
  • Plants contain thousands of metabolites that contribute to their diversity

Soil Health

  • The continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals and humans
  • The Soil Health Principles Systems Approach includes 5 principles:
  • Soil armor
  • Minimize soil disturbance
  • Plant diversity
  • Continual live plant/root
  • Livestock integration