Cover crops play an increasingly important role in improving soil quality, reducing agricultural inputs and improving environmental sustainability. The main objectives of this critical global review and systematic analysis were to assess cover crop practices in the context of their impacts on nitrogen leaching, net greenhouse gas balances (NGHGB) and crop productivity. Only studies that investigated the impacts of cover crops and measured one or a combination of nitrogen leaching, soil organic carbon (SOC), nitrous oxide (N2O), grain yield and nitrogen in grain of primary crop, and had a control treatment were included in the analysis. Long\uffe2\uff80\uff90term studies were uncommon, with most data coming from studies lasting 2\uffe2\uff80\uff933\uffc2\uffa0years. The literature search resulted in 106 studies carried out at 372 sites and covering different countries, climatic zones and management. Our analysis demonstrates that cover crops significantly (p\uffc2\uffa0<\uffc2\uffa00.001) decreased N leaching and significantly (p\uffc2\uffa0<\uffc2\uffa00.001) increased SOC sequestration without having significant (p\uffc2\uffa0>\uffc2\uffa00.05) effects on direct N2O emissions. Cover crops could mitigate the NGHGB by 2.06\uffc2\uffa0\uffc2\uffb1\uffc2\uffa02.10\uffc2\uffa0Mg CO2\uffe2\uff80\uff90eq\uffc2\uffa0ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921\uffc2\uffa0year\uffe2\uff88\uff921. One of the potential disadvantages of cover crops identified was the reduction in grain yield of the primary crop by \uffe2\uff89\uff884%, compared to the control treatment. This drawback could be avoided by selecting mixed cover crops with a range of legumes and non\uffe2\uff80\uff90legumes, which increased the yield by \uffe2\uff89\uff8813%. These advantages of cover crops justify their widespread adoption. However, management practices in relation to cover crops will need to be adapted to specific soil, management and regional climatic conditions.
", "keywords": ["Crops", " Agricultural", "net greenhouse gas balance", "330", "Supplementary Data", "Nitrogen", "QH301 Biology", "Supplementary data available", "12. Responsible consumption", "Nitrous oxide emissions", "QH301", "Greenhouse Gases", "Soil", "N content", "nitrate", "C sequestration", "N leaching", "Environmental Chemistry", "General Environmental Science", "NE/M019691/1", "2. Zero hunger", "Global and Planetary Change", "Catch crop", "Ecology", "Soil organic carbon", "green manure", "Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)", "Research Review", "Agriculture", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "yield", "Crop Production", "13. Climate action", "N in grain", "Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)", "Cover crop", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "BB/N013484/1", "BB/N013468/1"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14644"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Global%20Change%20Biology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/gcb.14644", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/gcb.14644", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/gcb.14644"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-05-13T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1071/cp10115", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "unspecified", "updated": "2026-07-28T16:18:00Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2011-04-19", "title": "Soil Organic Carbon And Total Nitrogen Under Leucaena Leucocephala Pastures In Queensland", "description": "Soil organic carbon (OC) and total nitrogen (TN) accumulation in the top 0\uffe2\uff80\uff930.15\uffe2\uff80\uff89m of leucaena\uffe2\uff80\uff93grass pastures were compared with native pastures and with continuously cropped land. OC and TN levels were highest under long-term leucaena\uffe2\uff80\uff93grass pasture (P\uffe2\uff80\uff89<\uffe2\uff80\uff890.05). For leucaena\uffe2\uff80\uff93grass pastures that had been established for 20, 31, and 38 years, OC accumulated at rates that exceeded those of the adjacent native grass pasture by 267, 140, and 79\uffe2\uff80\uff89kg/ha.year, respectively, while TN accumulated at rates that exceeded those of the native grass pastures by 16.7, 10.8, and 14.0\uffe2\uff80\uff89kg/ha.year, respectively. At a site where 14-year-old leucaena\uffe2\uff80\uff93grass pasture was adjacent to continuously cropped land, there were benefits in OC accumulation of 762\uffe2\uff80\uff89kg/ha.year and in TN accumulation of 61.9\uffe2\uff80\uff89kg/ha.year associated with the establishment of leucaena\uffe2\uff80\uff93grass pastures. Similar C\uffe2\uff80\uff89:\uffe2\uff80\uff89N ratios (range 12.7\uffe2\uff80\uff9314.5) of soil OC in leucaena and grass-only pastures indicated that plant-available N limited soil OC accumulation in pure grass swards. Higher OC accumulation occurred near leucaena hedgerows than in the middle of the inter-row in most leucaena\uffe2\uff80\uff93grass pastures. Rates of C sequestration were compared with simple models of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the grazed pastures. The amount of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) accumulated in additional topsoil OC of leucaena\uffe2\uff80\uff93grass pastures \uffe2\uff89\uffa420 years old offset estimates of the amount of CO2-e emitted in methane and nitrous oxide from beef cattle grazing these pastures, thus giving positive GHG balances. Less productive, aging leucaena pastures >20 years old had negative GHG balances; lower additional topsoil OC accumulation rates compared with native grass pastures failed to offset animal emissions.
", "keywords": ["Carbon sequestration", "2. Zero hunger", "Soil total nitrogen", "Greenhouse gas balance", "Soil organic carbon", "13. Climate action", "1102 Cardiovascular Medicine and Haematology", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "1110 Nursing", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Carbon balance", "15. Life on land", "Permanent pastures"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Alejandro Radrizzani, Alejandro Radrizzani, Gunnar Kirchhof, H. Max Shelton, Scott A. Dalzell,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1071/cp10115"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Crop%20and%20Pasture%20Science", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1071/cp10115", "name": "item", "description": "10.1071/cp10115", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1071/cp10115"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2011-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}], "links": [{"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "This document as GeoJSON", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=Greenhouse+gas+balance&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=Greenhouse+gas+balance&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=Greenhouse+gas+balance&", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "last", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "items (last)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=Greenhouse+gas+balance&offset=3", "hreflang": "en-US"}], "numberMatched": 3, "numberReturned": 3, "distributedFeatures": [], "timeStamp": "2026-07-28T20:14:14.071662Z"}