The role of cover crops in optimizing nutrient cycles

During the last few decades, research has resulted in significant advances in understanding the role of cover crops in sustainable agroecosystems, particularly in improving nutrient cycling. As addressed in other chapters, using cover crops contributes to soil structure improvement, soil erosion reduction, soil carbon (C) sequestration, and soil biological health (e.g. Blanco-Canqui and Ruis, 2020; Jian et al., 2020; Kim et al., 2020), which directly and indirectly influence nutrient cycling and losses. Fertilizer inputs to provide nutrients are a significant cost of production; thus, optimizing nutrient availability to crops via cover crops is a key component of sustainable agriculture. Nutrient losses that are from agroecosystems, especially the losses of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), cause eutrophication, biodiversity loss, and in the case of N-related climate change (Tilman, 1999). Therefore, we need to comprehensively understand the role of cover crops in reducing nutrient losses and improving nutrient availability to subsequent crops.