Revisiting the contribution of cover crops to weed management in Conservation Agriculture

Increased adoption of integrated weed management (IWM) strategies is critically needed to reduce the evolution and spread of herbicide-resistant weed species in Conservation Agriculture (Mortensen et al., 2012). Cover cropping has the potential to be a foundational component of IWM in Conservation Agriculture by reducing weed fitness during active periods of growth and as surface residue after termination (Teasdale, 1996a). However, weed suppression is just one of several ecosystem services that winter annual cover crops regulate in agroecosystems (Schipanski et al., 2014).