Weeds in Cover Crops: Context and Management Considerations

Cover crops are increasingly being adopted to provide multiple ecosystem services such as improving soil health, managing nutrients, and decreasing soil erosion. It is not uncommon for weeds to emerge in and become a part of a cover crop plant community. Since the role of cover cropping is to supple...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Agriculture (Basel) 2021-03, Vol.11 (3), p.193
Main Authors: Baraibar, Barbara, White, Charles M., Hunter, Mitchell C., Finney, Denise M., Barbercheck, Mary E., Kaye, Jason P., Curran, William S., Bunchek, Jess, Mortensen, David A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural ecosystems
Agricultural practices
Agricultural production
Bacteria
Case studies
Context
cover
Cover crops
Crop diseases
Crop rotation
Crops
Ecosystem services
Ecosystems
Fecundity
Fungi
Gram-positive bacteria
Ground cover
Herbicides
Insects
Legumes
Literature reviews
nutrient management
Nutrients
Plant communities
Plant diseases
Provisioning
Seeds
Soil erosion
Soil improvement
trade-offs
Weeds
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Summary:Cover crops are increasingly being adopted to provide multiple ecosystem services such as improving soil health, managing nutrients, and decreasing soil erosion. It is not uncommon for weeds to emerge in and become a part of a cover crop plant community. Since the role of cover cropping is to supplement ecosystem service provisioning, we were interested in assessing the impacts of weeds on such provisioning. To our knowledge, no research has examined how weeds in cover crops may impact the provision of ecosystem services and disservices. Here, we review services and disservices associated with weeds in annual agroecosystems and present two case studies from the United States to illustrate how weeds growing in fall-planted cover crops can provide ground cover, decrease potential soil losses, and effectively manage nitrogen. We argue that in certain circumstances, weeds in cover crops can enhance ecosystem service provisioning. In other circumstances, such as in the case of herbicide-resistant weeds, cover crops should be managed to limit weed biomass and fecundity. Based on our case studies and review of the current literature, we conclude that the extent to which weeds should be allowed to grow in a cover crop is largely context-dependent.
ISSN:2077-0472
2077-0472
DOI:10.3390/agriculture11030193