Soil organic carbon–yield tradeoffs under alternative cover crop management in a semi-arid cropping system
- 1Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA
- 2Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA; Agricultural Science Center at Clovis, New Mexico State University, Clovis, NM, USA
- 3Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA; Agricultural Science Center at Clovis, New Mexico State University, Clovis, NM, USA; Corresponding author. 2346 State Road 288, Clovis, NM, USA.
Abstract
Cover cropping is practiced to improve soil health and sequester soil organic carbon (SOC) in arid and semi-arid agroecosystems, yet its agronomic viability remains uncertain due to water limitations, inconsistent yield responses, and climate change and variability. This study aimed to evaluate SOC and crop yield responses following cover cropping in a semi-arid winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.)–sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench)–fallow rotation using the DayCent model. Five management scenarios were simulated under continued historical climate and SSP5–8.5 high-emission scenarios over a 25-year period. Treatments compared include a pea ( Pisum sativum L.) monoculture and a pea–oat ( Avena sativa L.)–canola (Brassica napus L.) mixture (POCMix) and no-cover crop (fallow) as a control. Results showed that pea as a cover crop produced the highest SOC (up to 2223 g C m −2 , approximately 8–13% above fallow) but lower sorghum yields, whereas fallow achieved the highest sorghum yield (424 g C m −2 harvest −1 ). Wheat yield was generally higher following pea than fallow. POCMix showed intermediate responses, maintaining higher sorghum yields than pea under several management scenarios, but with lower SOC gains than with pea. Management strategies that adjusted planting and termination timing of cover crops, specifically POCMix, maintained sorghum yields within approximately 4–12% of fallow under the continued historical climate while increasing SOC. In contrast, pea-based systems produced the highest wheat yields, ranging from 183.7 to 206.4 g C m −2 harvest −1 , compared with 131.3 to 138.6 g C m −2 harvest −1 under fallow. Under the high-emission scenario, sorghum yields declined by 22–51% and wheat yields by 5–10% across the modified management scenarios. Simultaneously increasing SOC and improving crop yield responses requires earlier cover crop termination and optimized planting times for subsequent cash crops, which reduces water competition while maintaining SOC gains and improving the sustainability of agricultural systems.
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BibTeX
@article{arije2026soil,
title = {{Soil organic carbon–yield tradeoffs under alternative cover crop management in a semi-arid cropping system}},
author = {Dotun Arije and Prakriti Bista and Rajan Ghimire},
journal = {Journal of Agriculture and Food Research},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.jafr.2026.103373},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2026.103373},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Soil organic carbon–yield tradeoffs under alternative cover crop management in a semi-arid cropping system
AU - Dotun Arije
AU - Prakriti Bista
AU - Rajan Ghimire
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - Journal of Agriculture and Food Research
DO - 10.1016/j.jafr.2026.103373
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2026.103373
AB - Cover cropping is practiced to improve soil health and sequester soil organic carbon (SOC) in arid and semi-arid agroecosystems, yet its agronomic viability remains uncertain due to water limitations, inconsistent yield responses, and climate change and variability. This study aimed to evaluate SOC and crop yield responses following cover cropping in a semi-arid winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.)–sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench)–fallow rotation using the DayCent model. Five management scenarios were simulated under continued historical climate and SSP5–8.5 high-emission scenarios over a 25-year period. Treatments compared include a pea ( Pisum sativum L.) monoculture and a pea–oat ( Avena sativa L.)–canola (Brassica napus L.) mixture (POCMix) and no-cover crop (fallow) as a control. Results showed that pea as a cover crop produced the highest SOC (up to 2223 g C m −2 , approximately 8–13% above fallow) but lower sorghum yields, whereas fallow achieved the highest sorghum yield (424 g C m −2 harvest −1 ). Wheat yield was generally higher following pea than fallow. POCMix showed intermediate responses, maintaining higher sorghum yields than pea under several management scenarios, but with lower SOC gains than with pea. Management strategies that adjusted planting and termination timing of cover crops, specifically POCMix, maintained sorghum yields within approximately 4–12% of fallow under the continued historical climate while increasing SOC. In contrast, pea-based systems produced the highest wheat yields, ranging from 183.7 to 206.4 g C m −2 harvest −1 , compared with 131.3 to 138.6 g C m −2 harvest −1 under fallow. Under the high-emission scenario, sorghum yields declined by 22–51% and wheat yields by 5–10% across the modified management scenarios. Simultaneously increasing SOC and improving crop yield responses requires earlier cover crop termination and optimized planting times for subsequent cash crops, which reduces water competition while maintaining SOC gains and improving the sustainability of agricultural systems.
SN - 2666-1543
ER -