Impacts of Cover Crops and Crop Residues on Phosphorus Losses in Cold Climates: A Review

Jian Liu, Merrin L. Macrae, Jane A. Elliott, Helen M. Baulch, Henry F. Wilson, Peter J. A. Kleinman


Abstract
The use of cover crops and crop residues is a common strategy to mitigate sediment and nutrient losses from land to water. In cold climates, elevated dissolved P losses can occur associated with freeze-thaw of plant materials. Here, we review the impacts of cover crops and crop residues on dissolved P and total P loss in cold climates across ∼41 studies, exploring linkages between water-extractable P (WEP) in plant materials and P loss in surface runoff and subsurface drainage. Water-extractable P concentrations are influenced by plant type and freezing regimes. For example, WEP was greater in brassica cover crops than in non-brassicas, and increased with repeated freeze-thaw cycles. However, total P losses in surface runoff and subsurface drainage from cropped fields under cold climates were much lower than plant WEP, owing to retention of 45 to >99% of released P by soil. In cold climatic regions, cover crops and crop residues generally prevented soil erosion and loss of particle-bound P during nongrowing seasons in erodible landscapes but tended to elevate dissolved P loss in nonerodible soils. Their impact on total P loss was inconsistent across studies and complicated by soil, climate, and management factors. More research is needed to understand interactions between these factors and plant type that influence P loss, and to improve the assessment of crop contributions to P loss in field settings in cold climates. Further, tradeoffs between P loss and the control of sediment loss and N leaching by plants should be acknowledged.
Cite:
Jian Liu, Merrin L. Macrae, Jane A. Elliott, Helen M. Baulch, Henry F. Wilson, and Peter J. A. Kleinman. 2019. Impacts of Cover Crops and Crop Residues on Phosphorus Losses in Cold Climates: A Review. Journal of Environmental Quality, Volume 48, Issue 4, 48(4):850–868.
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