Managing Global Resources for a Secure Future

Cover crops provide the opportunity to diversify cropping rotations, especially in regions where growing seasons are short and cash crop options may be limited. Full-season cover crops provide both above- and below-ground benefits, including improvement and maintenance of soil health. We monitored soil, insect, and plant properties in fields in southeastern North Dakota that hosted diverse, full-season cover crops in sunflower. The cover crop mix was chosen to (1) maintain continuous flowering throughout the growing season (for pollinator attraction), (2) provide different rooting structures and depths (for improving soil structure), (3) minimize bare soil between sunflower rows (for weed control and soil conservation), and (4) maximize habitat for beneficial insects and soil biota. Across three fields, we compared soil properties between plots with sunflower and plots with sunflower + cover crop mix. Specifically, we monitored inter-row root characteristics, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi abundance, aggregation, microbial biomass carbon, residue decomposition, and soil fertility. The benefits of soil health should be considered alongside pest control and cash crop production in diversified cropping systems.