Quantifying Root-Soil Interactions in Cover Crop Systems: A Review

Cameron M. Ogilvie, Waqar Ashiq, Hiteshkumar B. Vasava and Asim Biswas
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Cameron M. Ogilvie: School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G2W1, Canada
Waqar Ashiq: School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G2W1, Canada
Hiteshkumar B. Vasava: School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G2W1, Canada
Asim Biswas: School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G2W1, Canada

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: Plant roots are an integral part of soil ecosystems and contribute to various services, including carbon and nutrient cycling, weathering, and soil formation. They also modify soil physical properties (e.g., soil water content, pore size distribution, and bulk density) and impact subsequent crops’ growth. Cover crops have been reported to improve soil and environmental quality by reducing nutrient losses, improving soil water content, and increasing soil organic matter. Understanding the complex interactions between cover crop roots and soil (RS) is of utmost importance. However, cover crop RS interactions have not been critically reviewed. In this article, we investigated the nature of cover crop physical RS interactions and explored the emerging technologies for their study. We also assessed technologies that may be readily applied to the study of physical RS interactions in cover crop systems and discussed ways to improve related research in the future.

Keywords: cover crops; soil physical properties; root morphology; measurement techniques; tomography; rhizotrons (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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