A functional characterisation of a wide range of cover crop species: growth and nitrogen acquisition rates, leaf traits and ecological strategies

PloS One
Hélène TribouilloisEric Justes

Abstract

Cover crops can produce ecosystem services during the fallow period, as reducing nitrate leaching and producing green manure. Crop growth rate (CGR) and crop nitrogen acquisition rate (CNR) can be used as two indicators of the ability of cover crops to produce these services in agrosystems. We used leaf functional traits to characterise the growth strategies of 36 cover crops as an approach to assess their ability to grow and acquire N rapidly. We measured specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf nitrogen content (LNC) and leaf area (LA) and we evaluated their relevance to characterise CGR and CNR. Cover crop species were positioned along the Leaf Economics Spectrum (LES), the SLA-LDMC plane, and the CSR triangle of plant strategies. LA was positively correlated with CGR and CNR, while LDMC was negatively correlated with CNR. All cover crops could be classified as resource-acquisitive species from their relative position on the LES and the SLA-LDMC plane. Most cover crops were located along the Competition/Ruderality axis in the CSR triangle. In particular, Brassicaceae species were classified as very competitive, which was consistent with their high CGR and CNR. Leaf functional traits, especially LA and L...Continue Reading

References

Apr 23, 2004·Nature·Ian J WrightRafael Villar
Apr 23, 2011·Journal of Experimental Botany·Marta S LopesChristine H Foyer
Feb 24, 2012·Anesthesia and Analgesia·Thomas A Cooper
Jan 30, 2013·The New Phytologist·Pablo García-PalaciosDiana H Wall

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Citations

Mar 19, 2016·Ecology Letters·Manuel Delgado-BaquerizoRubén Milla
Jul 4, 2015·Trends in Ecology & Evolution·Rubén MillaCyrille Violle
Feb 18, 2017·Trends in Plant Science·Michel-Pierre FauconHans Lambers
Jun 8, 2017·International Journal of Molecular Sciences·Eleni TaniIlias Travlos
Jan 1, 2020·Global Change Biology·Jens KattgeChristian Wirth
Nov 17, 2020·Frontiers in Plant Science·Suhong LiXuelian Wu
Apr 20, 2021·Frontiers in Plant Science·Julie GuiguitantHélène Marrou

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Methods Mentioned

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