Legumes in catch crop mixtures: Effects on nitrogen retention and availability, and leaching losses

TY - JOUR

T1 - Legumes in catch crop mixtures

T2 - Effects on nitrogen retention and availability, and leaching losses

AU - Vogeler, Iris

AU - Hansen, Elly M.

AU - Thomsen, Ingrid K.

AU - Østergaard, Hans S.

PY - 2019/6

Y1 - 2019/6

N2 - Catch crop (CC) mixtures of non-legumes (nL) and legumes (L) have been promoted as a strategy to achieve two different goals: to decrease the risk of nitrate leaching and to enhance the nitrogen supply to the subsequent crop. To investigate if two-component mixtures of nL + L have advantages over pure nL stands experiments were carried out over a two year period (2013–2015) at two contrasting field sites in Denmark. Nitrogen (N) uptake by the CCs was measured by aboveground biomass sampling, and N leaching by ceramic suction cups. When grown in pure stands, white clover (Trifolium repens) on coarse sand and common vetch (Vicia sativa) on sandy loam were less effective at reducing N leaching than perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and fodder radish (Raphanus sativus). When the proportion of the nL + L in mixtures was similar or favored the nL, leaching was not significantly different from the nL in the pure stand. However, during one of the years on the sandy loam L (vetch) almost outperformed nL (fodder radish), resulting in N leaching from nL + L similar to L. The yield of the following spring barley was only significantly different from the yield in the plots with previously bare soil in one of the years on the coarse sandy soil. It is concluded that in nL + L mixtures L can take over and thereby lower the effect of the CCs on N leaching while not necessarily enhancing the N supply for the subsequent crop.

AB - Catch crop (CC) mixtures of non-legumes (nL) and legumes (L) have been promoted as a strategy to achieve two different goals: to decrease the risk of nitrate leaching and to enhance the nitrogen supply to the subsequent crop. To investigate if two-component mixtures of nL + L have advantages over pure nL stands experiments were carried out over a two year period (2013–2015) at two contrasting field sites in Denmark. Nitrogen (N) uptake by the CCs was measured by aboveground biomass sampling, and N leaching by ceramic suction cups. When grown in pure stands, white clover (Trifolium repens) on coarse sand and common vetch (Vicia sativa) on sandy loam were less effective at reducing N leaching than perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and fodder radish (Raphanus sativus). When the proportion of the nL + L in mixtures was similar or favored the nL, leaching was not significantly different from the nL in the pure stand. However, during one of the years on the sandy loam L (vetch) almost outperformed nL (fodder radish), resulting in N leaching from nL + L similar to L. The yield of the following spring barley was only significantly different from the yield in the plots with previously bare soil in one of the years on the coarse sandy soil. It is concluded that in nL + L mixtures L can take over and thereby lower the effect of the CCs on N leaching while not necessarily enhancing the N supply for the subsequent crop.

KW - Catch crops

KW - Legumes and non-legumes

KW - N leaching

KW - N uptake

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85063226816&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.03.077

DO - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.03.077

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 30921751

AN - SCOPUS:85063226816

SN - 0301-4797

VL - 239

SP - 324

EP - 332

JO - Journal of Environmental Management

JF - Journal of Environmental Management

ER -