ARS | Publication request: Growing cover crops to improve carbon sequestration

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: October 1, 2007
Publication Date: April 10, 2008
Citation: Wang, Q., Li, Y., Alva, A.K. 2008. Growing cover crops to improve carbon sequestration. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts.

Technical Abstract: Different cover crops were grown and evaluated for improving carbon sequestration. The cover crops in the study include not only winter and summer types but also legumes and non-legumes, respectively. Winter legumes are white clover, bell beans, and purple vetch, and winter non-legumes are triticale, ryegrass, and yellow mustard; summer legumes are sunn hemp, velvetbean, and cowpea, and summer non-legumes are German millet, sorghum sudangrass, and castor bean, respectively. Growth status, agronomic characteristics, total quantity of biomass, carbon sequestration rate, and the ratio of carbon to nitrogen in plant tissues have been evaluated through both field and growth chamber experiments.