Cover crops are a sustainable technology of planting crops in between the main cash crop. Cover crops reduce soil erosion, improve physical (improve structural aggregates, porosity, air and water management), chemical (cation exchange capacity, pH) and biological properties (abundance and activity of soil organisms). Cover crops enhance soil health, enabling ecosystem functions. Healthy soil provide plants and other species optimal growth and development environments. They have great water holding capacity, nutrient cycling, structure and amount of air present in the soil. Usually healthy soils are correlated with higher amounts of organic matter, which enhances biotic diversity. Most commonly used cover crops are legumes and cereal crops. Legumes enhance the amount of available nitrogen and phosphorus, while affecting the colonization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and the activity of earthworms. Cereal crops diminish the loss of nutrients, enhance the infiltration of water, while improving the soil structure. The low ration C/N enhances the activity and abundance of soil microorganisms. Cruciferous plants are used for biofumigation, as a way for combating pathogens. With the release of glucosinolates they slow down the development of Fusarium, Rhyzoctonia solani, Spongospora subteranea in Steptomyces scabies. Besides cover crops, we can sow more crops at once with the method called intercropping. They enable plants to use minerals evenly and are great at supressing weeds and diseases. More plants at once leads to bigger heterogenity of the soil fauna.
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