Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Early Online
    • Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • Info For
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • About
    • About JSWC
    • Editorial Board
    • Call for Research Editor
    • Permissions
    • Alerts
    • RSS Feeds
    • Contact Us

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Early Online
    • Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • Info For
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • About
    • About JSWC
    • Editorial Board
    • Call for Research Editor
    • Permissions
    • Alerts
    • RSS Feeds
    • Contact Us
  • Follow SWCS on Twitter
  • Visit SWCS on Facebook
Research ArticleResearch Section

Short-term soil physical responses to grazing and cover crops in an integrated crop-livestock agroecosystem

N. Singh, S. Kumar, V.L. Jin and S. Schneider
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation September 2022, 77 (5) 516-527; DOI: https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.2022.00095
N. Singh
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
S. Kumar
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
V.L. Jin
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
S. Schneider
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Cover crops (CCs) and grazing play critical roles in the successful implementation of integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLSs) because they can have a direct impact on soil functions. The present study was conducted to assess the short-term impacts of CCs and grazing on soil physical and hydrological properties. Two sites (Northern-Brookings and Northwestern-Brookings) were established in 2016 and 2017, respectively, in South Dakota, United States. The specific objective was to evaluate the impact of CCs and grazed CCs under oat (Avena sativa L.)/CCs–corn (Zea mays L.) rotation on soil physical and hydrological properties. Study treatments included (1) legume-dominated CC (LdC), (2) cattle-grazed LdC (LdC+G), (3) grass-dominated CC (GdC), (4) cattle-grazed GdC (GdC+G), and (5) no CC and no grazing (NC). After two to three years of management, CCs and grazing did not impact soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) stocks, and their values at approximate depth of 0 to 20 cm ranged from 50.9 to 60.6 Mg C ha−1 and 3.65 to 4.92 Mg N ha−1, respectively, among the treatments at each site. Cover crops decreased soil bulk density (ρb) at 0 to 10 cm and 10 to 20 cm depths and, in general, increased soil water retention (SWR), total porosity, and quasi-steady infiltration rate (Northern-Brookings only) compared to the NC. Cattle grazing of CC generally increased ρb and reduced SWR and porosity compared with the ungrazed CC but not to the often-perceived detrimental levels. Our findings showed that CCs can improve some aspects of soil physical health in the short term and that grazing of CCs and crop residue did not cause substantial physical damage to the soil under the conditions of these experiments.

Key words
  • cover crops
  • grazing
  • integrated crop-livestock system
  • soil physical and hydrological properties
  • © 2022 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
View Full Text

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Log in using your username and password

Forgot your user name or password?

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation: 77 (5)
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
Vol. 77, Issue 5
September/October 2022
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Short-term soil physical responses to grazing and cover crops in an integrated crop-livestock agroecosystem
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
14 + 6 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Citation Tools
Short-term soil physical responses to grazing and cover crops in an integrated crop-livestock agroecosystem
N. Singh, S. Kumar, V.L. Jin, S. Schneider
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Sep 2022, 77 (5) 516-527; DOI: 10.2489/jswc.2022.00095

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Request Permissions
Share
Short-term soil physical responses to grazing and cover crops in an integrated crop-livestock agroecosystem
N. Singh, S. Kumar, V.L. Jin, S. Schneider
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Sep 2022, 77 (5) 516-527; DOI: 10.2489/jswc.2022.00095
Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Introduction
    • Materials and Methods
    • Results and Discussion
    • Summary and Conclusions
    • Supplemental Material
    • Acknowledgements
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Rice producer enrollment and retention in a USDA regional conservation partnership program in the southern United States
  • Benefits, barriers, and use of cover crops in the western United States: Regional survey results
  • Microbial respiration gives early indication of soil health improvement following cover crops
Show more Research Section

Similar Articles

Keywords

  • cover crops
  • grazing
  • integrated crop-livestock system
  • soil physical and hydrological properties

Content

  • Current Issue
  • Early Online
  • Archive
  • Subject Collections

Info For

  • Authors
  • Reviewers
  • Subscribers
  • Advertisers

Customer Service

  • Subscriptions
  • Permissions and Reprints
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy

SWCS

  • Membership
  • Publications
  • Meetings and Events
  • Conservation Career Center

© 2023 Soil and Water Conservation Society