Relay intercropping of subsidiary legumes with durum wheat (living mulch) can be a viable option to support ecological weed control and optimize nutrient cycling in cereal-based cropping systems. However, the lack of knowledge on suitable legume species is often identified as the main bottleneck for the successful application of legume living mulches. This study aimed to evaluate the suitability of 12 different legumes for relay intercropping with wheat in two contrasting Mediterranean cereal-based cropping systems respectively characterized by low-input and integrated management. Each legume was monitored from the undersowing in wheat until the following spring and we compared direct drilling to broadcast sowing of legumes. None of the undersown legumes showed a negative effect on the wheat grain yield. Relay intercropping of legumes proved to be an effective solution to control weeds before and after the wheat harvest, provided suitable legumes species are chosen. Suitable legumes reduced the weed biomass up to the 90% during the intercropping and up to 94% in the following spring. On the contrary, legumes such as Trifoliumresupinatum, Viciavillosa, Medicagotruncatula, and Medicagoscutellata boosted weed growth in the following spring in comparison with the control. According to the performance of legumes, Medicagosativa, Trifoliumrepens and Medicagolupulina had the most suitable characteristics for relay intercropping with durum wheat at the Ravenna site, in a highly productive region whereas Medicagosativa, Hedysarumcoronarium and Trifoliumsubterraneum performed better in the low-input system near Pisa, where yields are generally lower. This is the first time that such a diversity in legumes species is tested in the same experiment for relay intercropping under diversified environmental and management conditions. The results of this study can support farmers in selecting the most appropriated legume species for their specific cropping systems and local conditions.
", "keywords": ["0106 biological sciences", "2. Zero hunger", "Living mulch", "Weed management", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "01 natural sciences", "[SDV] Life Sciences [q-bio]", "IWMPRAISE", "Crop combinations and interactions", "Integrated Weed Management", "Horizon2020", "Crop diversification", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Cereals", " pulses and oilseeds", "Subsidiary crops"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://www.iris.sssup.it/bitstream/11382/549112/1/s13593-022-00787-3.pdf"}, {"href": "https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s13593-022-00787-3.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-022-00787-3"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Agronomy%20for%20Sustainable%20Development", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1007/s13593-022-00787-3", "name": "item", "description": "10.1007/s13593-022-00787-3", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1007/s13593-022-00787-3"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2022-08-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.agee.2011.04.014", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-19T16:15:06Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2011-05-28", "title": "Nitrate Leaching From Organic Arable Crop Rotations Is Mostly Determined By Autumn Field Management", "description": "Two main challenges facing organic arable farming are the supply of nitrogen (N) to the crop and the control of perennial weeds. Nitrate leaching from different organic arable crop rotations was investigated over three consecutive four-year crop rotations in a field experiment at three locations in Denmark (12 years in total). The experimental treatments were: i) crop rotation, ii) catch crop and iii) animal manure. Nitrate leaching was estimated from measured soil nitrate concentation in ceramic suction cells and modelled drainage. There were significant effects on annual N leaching of location (coarse sand > loamy sand > sandy loam) and catch crops (without > with). Including a grass-clover green manure on 25% of the area did not increase N leaching compared with crop rotations without green manure. Also the application of animal manure did not influence N leaching, probably because even in the manured treatments the application rate was lower than crop demand. The results identify management of crop and soil during autumn as the main determinant of N leaching. Nitrate leaching was lowest for a catch crop soil cover during autumn and winter (avg. 20 kg N ha-1), a soil cover of weeds/volunteers had on avg. 30 kg N ha-1, and the largest N leaching losses were found after stubble cultivation (avg. 55 kg N ha-1). The N leaching losses increased with increasing number of autumn soil cultivations.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "0106 biological sciences", "Nutrient turnover", "Composting and manuring", "Farm nutrient management", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Recycling", " balancing and resource management", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "Cereals", " pulses and oilseeds", "01 natural sciences"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Askegaard, M, Olesen, J\u00f8rgen E, Rasmussen, Ilse Ankj\u00e6r, Kristensen, Kristian,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2011.04.014"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Agriculture%2C%20Ecosystems%20%26amp%3B%20Environment", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.agee.2011.04.014", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.agee.2011.04.014", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.agee.2011.04.014"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2011-08-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.eja.2012.03.006", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-19T16:15:27Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2012-04-05", "title": "The Role Of Catch Crops In The Ecological Intensification Of Spring Cereals In Organic Farming Under Nordic Climate", "description": "Abstract Catch crops can contribute to nitrogen supply of following crops through uptake of excess soil mineral nitrogen (N) and through biological N fixation. The contribution of catch crops to the ecological intensification of organic arable systems was investigated using data of a 12-year field experiment carried out at three sites in Denmark. This study focused on the yields of spring oats and spring barley in systems with and without manure in two different cropping systems (O2 and O4) that differed in the proportion of legume-based catch crops (O2 lower and O4 higher) and in the rotation composition (grass\u2013clover green manure in O2 and pulse crops in O4). Three consecutive four-year crop cycles were established at three locations representative of different soil types (loamy sand, sandy loam and coarse sand) and climatic conditions. Crop management and soil operations were performed following common practices in organic farming. Measurements of dry matter (DM) and N content of grain cereals at harvest, above-ground biomass in catch crops and green manure crops in autumn and of the green manure crop at the first cutting were performed. The effect of catch crops on grain yield varied with cereal and catch crop species, soil and rotation type, and the application of N in manure. Higher yield increases from previous catch crops were obtained for spring oat than for spring barley with mean estimates of the apparent N recovery efficiency of N in above-ground catch crops of 69% and 46%, respectively. However, lower autumn N in catch crops undersown in high yielding cash crop was also observed. For spring oats mean grain yield benefits of including catch crops varied from 0.2 to 2.4\u00a0Mg\u00a0DM\u00a0ha\u22121 depending on location, manure use and cycle of the rotation. In spring barley mean grain yield benefits from catch crops varied from 0.1 to 1.5\u00a0Mg\u00a0DM\u00a0ha\u22121. There was a tendency for the effect of catch crop on grain yield to increase over time. These results indicate that in Nordic climates catch crops can contribute to the ecological intensification of spring cereals, not only by reducing the nitrate leaching and increasing N retention, but also by improving yields. Management practices in relation to catch crops must be adapted to the specific soil and cropping systems.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Crop combinations and interactions", "legumes", "spring oat", "cropping systems", "15. Life on land", "Cereals", " pulses and oilseeds", "spring barley", "nitrogen"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2012.03.006"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/European%20Journal%20of%20Agronomy", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.eja.2012.03.006", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.eja.2012.03.006", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.eja.2012.03.006"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2013-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.soilbio.2008.05.007", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-19T16:16:04Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2008-06-12", "title": "Long-Term Organic Farming Fosters Below And Aboveground Biota: Implications For Soil Quality, Biological Control And Productivity", "description": "Organic farming may contribute substantially to future agricultural production worldwide by improving soil quality and pest control, thereby reducing environmental impacts of conventional farming. We investigated in a comprehensive way soil chemical, as well as below and aboveground biological parameters of two organic and two conventional wheat farming systems that primarily differed in fertilization and weed management strategies. Contrast analyses identified management related differences between \u201cherbicide-free\u201d bioorganic (BIOORG) and biodynamic (BIODYN) systems and conventional systems with (CONFYM) or without manure (CONMIN) and herbicide application within a long-term agricultural experiment (DOK trial, Switzerland). Soil carbon content was significantly higher in systems receiving farmyard manure and concomitantly microbial biomass (fungi and bacteria) was increased. Microbial activity parameters, such as microbial basal respiration and nitrogen mineralization, showed an opposite pattern, suggesting that soil carbon in the conventional system (CONFYM) was more easily accessible to microorganisms than in organic systems. Bacterivorous nematodes and earthworms were most abundant in systems that received farmyard manure, which is in line with the responses of their potential food sources (microbes and organic matter). Mineral fertilizer application detrimentally affected enchytraeids and Diptera larvae, whereas aphids benefited. Spider abundance was favoured by organic management, most likely a response to increased prey availability from the belowground subsystem or increased weed coverage. In contrast to most soil-based, bottom-up controlled interactions, the twofold higher abundance of this generalist predator group in organic systems likely contributed to the significantly lower abundance of aboveground herbivore pests (aphids) in these systems. Long-term organic farming and the application of farmyard manure promoted soil quality, microbial biomass and fostered natural enemies and ecosystem engineers, suggesting enhanced nutrient cycling and pest control. Mineral fertilizers and herbicide application, in contrast, affected the potential for top-down control of aboveground pests negatively and reduced the organic carbon levels. Our study indicates that the use of synthetic fertilizers and herbicide application changes interactions within and between below and aboveground components, ultimately promoting negative environmental impacts of agriculture by reducing internal biological cycles and pest control. On the contrary, organic farming fosters microbial and faunal decomposers and this propagates into the aboveground system via generalist predators thereby increasing conservation biological control. However, grain and straw yields were 23% higher in systems receiving mineral fertilizers and herbicides reflecting the trade-off between productivity and environmental responsibility.", "keywords": ["[SDE] Environmental Sciences", "generalist predators", "respiration microbienne", "[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]", "faune du sol", "natural enemies", "alternative prey", "630", "nitrogen", "food-web", "Soil", "agriculture biologique", "cycle biologique", "herbicide", "min\u00e9ralisation de l'azote", "fertilisation organique", "fertilisation min\u00e9rale", "soil quality", "2. Zero hunger", "agriculture biodynamique", "agriculture conventionnelle", "nutrient cycling", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "sustainability", "long terme", "6. Clean water", "[SDV] Life Sciences [q-bio]", "mycorrhizal fungi", "ennemi naturel", "microbial community structure", "ecosystem functioning", "[SDE]Environmental Sciences", "DOK trial;ecosystem functioning;farming system;fertilization;generalist predators;microbial community;nutrient cycling;natural enemies;soil fauna;soil quality;sustainability", "microbial community", "soil fauna", "agricultural systems", "management", "570", "agroecosystems", "Soil quality", "suisse", "productivit\u00e9", "Soil biology", "culture c\u00e9r\u00e9aliere", "triticum aestivum", "biomasse microbienne", "biomass", "DOK trial", "15. Life on land", "qualit\u00e9 biologique du sol", "fertilization", "13. Climate action", "Biodiversity and ecosystem services", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "farming system", "Cereals", " pulses and oilseeds"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2008.05.007"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Soil%20Biology%20and%20Biochemistry", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.soilbio.2008.05.007", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.soilbio.2008.05.007", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.soilbio.2008.05.007"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2008-09-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1111/j.1757-1707.2011.01132.x", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-19T16:17:30Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2011-11-22", "title": "Consequences Of Field N2o Emissions For The Environmental Sustainability Of Plant-Based Biofuels Produced Within An Organic Farming System", "description": "AbstractOne way of reducing the emissions of fossil fuel\uffe2\uff80\uff90derived carbon dioxide (CO2) is to replace fossil fuels with biofuels produced from agricultural biomasses or residuals. However, cultivation of soils results in emission of other greenhouse gases (GHGs), especially nitrous oxide (N2O). Previous studies on biofuel production systems showed that emissions of N2O may counterbalance a substantial part of the global warming reduction, which is achieved by fossil fuel displacement. In this study, we related measured field emissions of N2O to the reduction in fossil fuel\uffe2\uff80\uff90derived CO2, which was obtained when agricultural biomasses were used for biofuel production. The analysis included five organically managed feedstocks (viz. dried straw of sole cropped rye, sole cropped vetch and intercropped rye\uffe2\uff80\uff93vetch, as well as fresh grass\uffe2\uff80\uff93clover and whole crop maize) and three scenarios for conversion of biomass into biofuel. The scenarios were (i) bioethanol, (ii) biogas and (iii) coproduction of bioethanol and biogas. In the last scenario, the biomass was first used for bioethanol fermentation and subsequently the effluent from this process was utilized for biogas production. The net GHG reduction was calculated as the avoided fossil fuel\uffe2\uff80\uff90derived CO2, where the N2O emission was subtracted. This value did not account for fossil fuel\uffe2\uff80\uff90derived CO2 emissions from farm machinery and during conversion processes that turn biomass into biofuel. The greatest net GHG reduction, corresponding to 700\uffe2\uff80\uff93800\uffc2\uffa0g\uffc2\uffa0CO2\uffc2\uffa0m\uffe2\uff88\uff922, was obtained by biogas production or coproduction of bioethanol and biogas on either fresh grass\uffe2\uff80\uff93clover or whole crop maize. In contrast, biofuel production based on lignocellulosic crop residues (i.e. rye and vetch straw) provided considerably lower net GHG reductions (\uffe2\uff89\uffa4215\uffc2\uffa0g\uffc2\uffa0CO2\uffc2\uffa0m\uffe2\uff88\uff922), and even negative numbers sometimes. No GHG benefit was achieved by fertilizing the maize crop because the extra crop yield, and thereby increased biofuel production, was offset by enhanced N2O emissions.
", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Pasture and forage crops", "Nutrient turnover", "13. Climate action", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "Cereals", " pulses and oilseeds", "Air and water emissions", "7. Clean energy"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1757-1707.2011.01132.x"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/GCB%20Bioenergy", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/j.1757-1707.2011.01132.x", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/j.1757-1707.2011.01132.x", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/j.1757-1707.2011.01132.x"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2011-11-22T00:00:00Z"}}], "links": [{"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "This document as GeoJSON", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=+pulses+and+oilseeds&f=json", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "alternate", "type": "text/html", "title": "This document as HTML", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=+pulses+and+oilseeds&f=html", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection URL", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"type": "application/geo+json", "rel": "first", "title": "items (first)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=+pulses+and+oilseeds&", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "last", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "items (last)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=+pulses+and+oilseeds&offset=5", "hreflang": "en-US"}], "numberMatched": 5, "numberReturned": 5, "distributedFeatures": [], "timeStamp": "2026-09-20T16:01:57.062256Z"}