November 15, 2019 11:34 am
The ability of cover crops to stimulate microbes deep in the soil of farm fields leads to significant gains in water quality but does not necessarily increase the capacity of soil to store carbon, according to a recently published study from Iowa State University scientists.
The study, published in the academic journal Global Change Biology Bioenergy, analyzed soil samples that had undergone a wide range of long-term treatments. Steven Hall, an assistant professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology and corresponding author of the study, said the research delves deep below the surface to explore how cover crops and perennial prairie plants affect soil microbial activity. Read more.
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