Trade-offs of tropical cover crops: enhanced carbon inputs and soybean yield offset higher N2O emissions
IntroductionIn tropical agriculture, cover crops are increasingly adopted to improve soil health and system resilience. However, their influence on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly nitrous oxide (N2O), remains underexplored in field conditions.MethodsWe evaluated how cover crop biomass a...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Soil Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoil.2025.1630385/full |
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| author | Victória Santos Souza Mariana Teixeira Borges Bruna Emanuele Schiebelbein Lucas Pecci Canisares Jorge Luiz Locatelli Larissa de Souza Bortolo Darliane de Castro Santos Leandro Pereira Pacheco Carlos Eduardo P. Cerri Carlos Eduardo P. Cerri Maurício Roberto Cherubin Maurício Roberto Cherubin |
| author_facet | Victória Santos Souza Mariana Teixeira Borges Bruna Emanuele Schiebelbein Lucas Pecci Canisares Jorge Luiz Locatelli Larissa de Souza Bortolo Darliane de Castro Santos Leandro Pereira Pacheco Carlos Eduardo P. Cerri Carlos Eduardo P. Cerri Maurício Roberto Cherubin Maurício Roberto Cherubin |
| author_sort | Victória Santos Souza |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionIn tropical agriculture, cover crops are increasingly adopted to improve soil health and system resilience. However, their influence on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly nitrous oxide (N2O), remains underexplored in field conditions.MethodsWe evaluated how cover crop biomass affects N2O emissions and emission intensity (kg CO2 eq t−¹ grain) in tropical soybean systems across two field experiments (6 and 10 years) in the Brazilian savannah (Cerrado biome). GHG emissions were measured using static chambers on a weekly basis throughout the cropping seasons from 2022 to 2024.ResultsSoybeans followed by cover crops such as MixCC [ruzigrass (Urochloa ruziziensis), millet (Pennisetum glaucum), and showy rattlebox (Crotalaria spectabilis)] and ruzigrass contributed up to 202% more nitrogen and 51% more carbon inputs than soybeans followed by fallow and maize. The cover crop mix emitted ~6,000 kg C ha−¹ as biogenic CO2 in 2 years and 2,655 g N ha−¹ as N2O, ~50%-fold more than the bare fallow. Nevertheless, although high-biomass systems increased N2O emissions during the offseason, they also enhanced soybean yield, leading to lower emission intensity.DiscussionThe structural equation model revealed that cover crop biomass not only had a direct positive effect on soybean yield (standardized coefficient = 0.67) and N2O emissions (standardized coefficient = 0.33) but also an indirect negative effect on emission intensity through yield compensation. These findings suggest that adopting cover cropping systems in tropical regions can efficiently contribute to increasing crop yields while improving nitrogen use efficiency, which is important for food security in these regions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bb0f32a4ba7d477eb861ddf718dfb74a |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2673-8619 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Soil Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-bb0f32a4ba7d477eb861ddf718dfb74a2025-08-20T03:23:16ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Soil Science2673-86192025-08-01510.3389/fsoil.2025.16303851630385Trade-offs of tropical cover crops: enhanced carbon inputs and soybean yield offset higher N2O emissionsVictória Santos Souza0Mariana Teixeira Borges1Bruna Emanuele Schiebelbein2Lucas Pecci Canisares3Jorge Luiz Locatelli4Larissa de Souza Bortolo5Darliane de Castro Santos6Leandro Pereira Pacheco7Carlos Eduardo P. Cerri8Carlos Eduardo P. Cerri9Maurício Roberto Cherubin10Maurício Roberto Cherubin11Department of Soil Science, “Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture - University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, BrazilLaboratory of Agricultural Chemistry, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology Goiano, Rio Verde, Goiás, BrazilDepartment of Soil Science, “Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture - University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, BrazilDepartment of Soil Science, “Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture - University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, BrazilNatural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United StatesFundação Mato Grosso, Rondonópolis, Mato Grosso, BrazilLaboratory of Agricultural Chemistry, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology Goiano, Rio Verde, Goiás, BrazilDepartment of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Rondonópolis, Institute of Agrarian and Technological Sciences, Rondonópolis, Mato Grosso, BrazilDepartment of Soil Science, “Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture - University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, BrazilCenter for Carbon Research in Tropical Agriculture (CCARBON), USP, Piracicaba, São Paulo, BrazilDepartment of Soil Science, “Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture - University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, BrazilCenter for Carbon Research in Tropical Agriculture (CCARBON), USP, Piracicaba, São Paulo, BrazilIntroductionIn tropical agriculture, cover crops are increasingly adopted to improve soil health and system resilience. However, their influence on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly nitrous oxide (N2O), remains underexplored in field conditions.MethodsWe evaluated how cover crop biomass affects N2O emissions and emission intensity (kg CO2 eq t−¹ grain) in tropical soybean systems across two field experiments (6 and 10 years) in the Brazilian savannah (Cerrado biome). GHG emissions were measured using static chambers on a weekly basis throughout the cropping seasons from 2022 to 2024.ResultsSoybeans followed by cover crops such as MixCC [ruzigrass (Urochloa ruziziensis), millet (Pennisetum glaucum), and showy rattlebox (Crotalaria spectabilis)] and ruzigrass contributed up to 202% more nitrogen and 51% more carbon inputs than soybeans followed by fallow and maize. The cover crop mix emitted ~6,000 kg C ha−¹ as biogenic CO2 in 2 years and 2,655 g N ha−¹ as N2O, ~50%-fold more than the bare fallow. Nevertheless, although high-biomass systems increased N2O emissions during the offseason, they also enhanced soybean yield, leading to lower emission intensity.DiscussionThe structural equation model revealed that cover crop biomass not only had a direct positive effect on soybean yield (standardized coefficient = 0.67) and N2O emissions (standardized coefficient = 0.33) but also an indirect negative effect on emission intensity through yield compensation. These findings suggest that adopting cover cropping systems in tropical regions can efficiently contribute to increasing crop yields while improving nitrogen use efficiency, which is important for food security in these regions.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoil.2025.1630385/fullGHG emissionsemissions intensityCerradostructural equation modelingsoil health |
| spellingShingle | Victória Santos Souza Mariana Teixeira Borges Bruna Emanuele Schiebelbein Lucas Pecci Canisares Jorge Luiz Locatelli Larissa de Souza Bortolo Darliane de Castro Santos Leandro Pereira Pacheco Carlos Eduardo P. Cerri Carlos Eduardo P. Cerri Maurício Roberto Cherubin Maurício Roberto Cherubin Trade-offs of tropical cover crops: enhanced carbon inputs and soybean yield offset higher N2O emissions Frontiers in Soil Science GHG emissions emissions intensity Cerrado structural equation modeling soil health |
| title | Trade-offs of tropical cover crops: enhanced carbon inputs and soybean yield offset higher N2O emissions |
| title_full | Trade-offs of tropical cover crops: enhanced carbon inputs and soybean yield offset higher N2O emissions |
| title_fullStr | Trade-offs of tropical cover crops: enhanced carbon inputs and soybean yield offset higher N2O emissions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Trade-offs of tropical cover crops: enhanced carbon inputs and soybean yield offset higher N2O emissions |
| title_short | Trade-offs of tropical cover crops: enhanced carbon inputs and soybean yield offset higher N2O emissions |
| title_sort | trade offs of tropical cover crops enhanced carbon inputs and soybean yield offset higher n2o emissions |
| topic | GHG emissions emissions intensity Cerrado structural equation modeling soil health |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoil.2025.1630385/full |
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