Cover crops are grown in temporal and spatial gaps of agricultural production to reduce or avoid soil exposure. As it can protect farmland soil from wind erosion, water erosion and human disturbance, planting cover crops is considered as a new type of conservation tillage practice. Here, we briefly introduced the planting management of cover crops, including crop species, planting modes, and the returning to farmland after their termination, which could provide a reference for efficiently planting cover crops at large scale during the fallow period. Based on domestic and foreign studies, we summarized the benefits of cover crops on agroecosystem, including cash crops, soil quality, weed control, greenhouse gas emission, and soil microbes. Our review illustrated their importance in improving soil quality and achieving sustainable agricultural development, despite the limitation of cover crops, including unobvious benefits in the short-term and the reduction of crop yield caused by improper management.
覆盖作物指的是在农业生产间隙种植,使土壤在时间或空间上减少或避免裸露的一种作物。其能使农田土壤免受风蚀、水蚀和人为扰动的影响,被认为是一种新型的保护性耕作方式。本文简要介绍了农田覆盖作物的种植管理情况,包括种植品种、耕作模式和绿肥作物的灭生还田方式等,可为推广覆盖作物在农田休闲期的高效大面积种植提供参考。基于国内外研究综述了绿肥种植对经济作物、土壤质量、杂草抑制、温室气体排放和土壤微生物等的影响及研究进展,阐明了覆盖作物对农田生态系统的诸多益处。尽管覆盖作物存在局限性,例如短期收益不明显、管理措施不当会造成作物减产等,但其在改善土壤质量、实现农业可持续发展方面仍然具有重要的应用价值。.
Keywords: cash crop; conservation tillage; cover crop; soil environment.