@article{nokey,

title = {Catch crop mixtures have higher potential for nutrient carry-over than pure stands under changing environments},

author = {D. Heuermann and N. Gentsch and G. Guggenberger and B. Reinhold-Hurek and D. Schweneker and U. Feuerstein and M. C. Heuermann and J. Gro\ss and R. K\"{u}mmerer and B. Bauer and von N. Wir\'{e}n },

editor = {Elsevier ScienceDirect},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1161030122000521?via%3Dihub},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2022.126504},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-03-30},

urldate = {2022-03-30},

journal = {European Journal of Agronomy},

volume = {136},

abstract = {Winter catch crops are grown to scavenge nutrients over a period of unfavorable growth conditions and to conserve nutrients for subsequent release to the following main crop. Since environmental conditions have a strong impact on the growth and nutrient capture in roots and shoots of individual catch crop species, we anticipated that mixtures will be more durable and efficient in nutrient capture due to compensatory effects among component species. We tested this hypothesis and determined the nitrogen and phosphorus accumulation in the shoots and roots of four catch crop species grown in pure vs. mixed stands at two sites for two or three years. Element concentrations were determined in the root and shoot biomass of each species and used to calculate the nutrient pool fixed in the root or shoot biomass. A qPCR-based technique was applied to quantify the root biomass of individual species based on species-specific DNA sequences. Despite considerable variation across environments, the overall plant biomass of white mustard (Sinapis alba), lacy phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia) and bristle oat (Avena strigosa) was similar and higher than that of Egyptian clover (Trifolium alexandrinum). While pure stands varied 6- to 24-fold in shoot biomass depending on environmental conditions, the variation was only ~3-fold for catch crop mixtures, with less pronounced variation in the root biomass. In general, the root biomass was comparable to the shoot biomass in each species. Roots contributed 26\textendash46% of the nitrogen and 36\textendash48% of the phosphorus to the total accumulation of these nutrients in the catch crop biomass, thus emphasizing the importance of plant roots as belowground nutrient pool for potential carry-over of nutrients to the subsequent crop. Although the mixture was mostly dominated by two of the four species, namely mustard and phacelia, it captured similar or even larger amounts of nutrients than the best-performing pure stand under any growth condition. This was the case for shoot- and for root-bound nutrients. Our results indicate that catch crop mixtures have higher durability than pure cultures to environmental variations. The amount of nitrogen captured by the mixture meets the average postharvest nitrogen that is left over by a wide range of cash crops, thus emphasizing that catch crop mixtures represent an efficient nutrient management tool in crop rotations.},

keywords = {Ackerbau, Biomasse, Catch crops, D\"{u}ngung, Nachwachsende Rohstoffe},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Soil nitrogen and water management by winter-killed catch crops},

author = {D. Heuermann and N. Gentsch and G. Guggenberger and B. Reinhold-Hurek and D. Schweneker and U. Feuerstein and M. C. Heuermann and J. Gro\ss and R. K\"{u}mmerer and B. Bauer and N. von Wir\'{e}n },

editor = {European Geosciences Union},

url = {https://soil.copernicus.org/articles/8/269/2022/},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-269-2022},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-01-01},

urldate = {2022-01-01},

journal = {SOIL},

volume = {8},

issue = {1},

pages = {269\textendash281},

abstract = {Improving N cycling in agroecosystems is one of the key challenges in reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture. Further, uncertainty in precipitation makes crop water management relevant in regions where it has not been necessary thus far. Here, we focus on the potential of winter-killed catch crops (CCs) to reduce N leaching losses from N mineralization over the winter and from soil water management. We compared four single CCs (white mustard, phacelia, Egyptian clover and bristle oat) and two CC mixtures with 4 and 12 plant species (Mix4 and Mix12) with a fallow treatment. High-resolution soil mineral N (Nmin) monitoring in combination with the modelling of spatiotemporal dynamics served to assess N cycling under winter-killed CCs, while soil water was continuously monitored in the rooting zone. Catch crops depleted the residual Nmin pools by between 40 % and 72 % compared to the fallow. The amount of residual N uptake was lowest for clover and not significantly different among the other CCs. Catch crops that produce high N litter materials, such as clover and mustard leaves, showed an early N mineralization flush immediately after their termination and the highest leaching losses from litter mineralization over the winter. Except for clover, all CCs showed Nmin values between 18 % and 92 % higher on the sowing date of the following maize crop. However, only Mix12 was statistically significant. Catch crops depleted the soil water storage in the rooting zone during their growth in autumn and early winter, but preserved water later on when their residues covered the ground. The shallow incorporation of CC residues increased water storage capacity during the cropping season of the main crop even under reduced soil water availability. Hence, catch cropping is not just a simple plant cover for the winter but improves the growth conditions for the following crop with decreased N losses. Mixtures have been shown to compensate for the weaknesses of individual CC species in terms of nutrient capture, mineralization and transfer to the following main crop as well as for soil water management. Detailed knowledge about plant performance during growth and litter mineralization patterns is necessary to make optimal use of their potential.},

keywords = {Ackerbau, Bodenbearbeitung, Catch crops},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{N.2020,

title = {Catch crop diversity increases rhizosphere carbon input and soil microbial biomass},

author = {N. Gentsch and J. Boy and J. D. K. Batalla and D. Heuermann and N. von Wir\'{e}n and D. Schweneker and U. Feuerstein and J. Gro\ss and B. Bauer and B. Reinhold-Hurek and T. Hurek and F. C. C\'{e}spedes and G. Guggenberger 

},

editor = {Springer},

url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00374-020-01475-8},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-020-01475-8},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-05-23},

urldate = {2020-05-23},

journal = {  Biology and Fertility of Soils },

volume = {56},

pages = {943-957},

abstract = {Catch crops increase plant species richness in crop rotations, but are most often grown as pure stands. Here, we investigate the impacts of increasing plant diversity in catch crop rotations on rhizosphere C input and microbial utilization. Mustard (Sinapis alba L.) planted as a single cultivar was compared to diversified catch crop mixtures of four (Mix4) or 12 species (Mix12). We traced the C transfer from shoots to roots towards the soil microbial community and the soil respiration in a 13C pulse labelling field experiment. Net CO2-C uptake from the atmosphere increased by two times in mix 4 and more than three times in mix 12. Higher net ecosystem C production was linked to increasing catch crop diversity and increased belowground transfer rates of recently fixed photoassimilates. The higher rhizosphere C input stimulated the growth and activity of the soil microbiome, which was investigated by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analyses. Total microbial biomass increased from 14 to 22 g m−2 as compared to the fallow and was 18 and 8% higher for mix 12 and mix 4 as compared to mustard. In particular, the fungal and actinobacterial communities profited the most from the higher belowground C input and their biomass increased by 3.4 and 1.3 times as compared to the fallow. The residence time of the 13C pulse, traced in the CO2 flux from the soil environment, increased with plant diversity by up to 1.8 times. The results of this study suggest positive impacts of plant diversity on C cycling by higher atmospheric C uptake, higher transport rates towards the rhizosphere, higher microbial incorporation and prolonged residence time in the soil environment. We conclude that diversified catch crop mixtures improve the efficiency of C cycling in cropping systems and provide a promising tool for sustainable soil management.},

keywords = {13C pulse labelling, Agrobiodiversity, Catch crops, Cover crops, Rhizosphere C-transfer, Soil microbiome},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{BauerB..2020b,

title = {Lupine - der Star in der Fruchtfolge},

author = {B. Bauer },

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-01-01},

urldate = {2020-01-01},

journal = {Bayrisches Landwirtschaftliches Wochenblatt},

volume = {45},

keywords = {Ackerbau, Biomasse, Catch crops},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}