Abstract
Abstract Climate change models predict increasing precipitation variability in the mid-latitude regions of Earth, generating a need to reduce the negative impacts of these changes on crop production. Despite considerable research on how cover crops support agriculture in a changing climate, understanding is limited of how climate change influences the growth of cover crops. We investigated the early development of two common cover crop species—crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum) and rye (Secale cereale)—and hypothesized that growing them in the mixture would ameliorate stress from drought or waterlogging. This hypothesis was tested in a 25-day greenhouse experiment, where the two factors (species number and water stress) were fully crossed in randomized blocks, and plant responses were quantified through survival, growth rate, biomass production and root morphology. Water stress negatively influenced the early growth of these two species in contrasting ways: crimson clover was susceptible to drought while rye performed poorly under waterlogging. Per-plant biomass in rye was always greater in mixture than in monoculture, while per-plant biomass of crimson clover was greater in mixture under drought. Both species grew longer roots in mixture than in monoculture under drought, and total biomass of mixtures did not differ significantly from the more-productive monoculture (rye) in any water condition. In the face of increasingly variable precipitation, growing crimson clover and rye together has potential to ameliorate water stress, a possibility that should be further investigated in field experiments.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Drought negatively affected early growth of crimson clover.
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e1“Water stress negatively influenced the early growth of these two species in contrasting ways”
e2“crimson clover was susceptible to drought”
Claim · model-written summary
Waterlogging negatively affected early growth of rye.
- Taxon
- rye
Secale cerealee3 - Treatment
- waterlogginge3
- Outcome
- early growthe1
- Direction
- negatively influencede1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Water stress negatively influenced the early growth of these two species in contrasting ways”
e3“rye performed poorly under waterlogging”
Claim · model-written summary
Per-plant biomass of rye was always greater in mixture than in monoculture.
- Taxon
- ryeSecale cerealee4
- Treatment
- mixturee4
- Outcome
- Per-plant biomasse4
- Direction
- greatere4
- Qualifier
- alwayse4
- Comparator
- monoculturee4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Per-plant biomass in rye was always greater in mixture than in monoculture”
Claim · model-written summary
Per-plant biomass of crimson clover was greater in mixture under drought.
- Taxon
- crimson clovere5
- Treatment
- mixturee5
- Outcome
- per-plant biomasse5
- Direction
- greatere5
- Qualifier
- under droughte5
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e5“per-plant biomass of crimson clover was greater in mixture under drought”
Claim · model-written summary
Crimson clover grew longer roots in mixture than in monoculture under drought.
Verbatim
e6“crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum) and rye (Secale cereale)”
e7“Both species grew longer roots in mixture than in monoculture under drought”
Claim · model-written summary
Rye grew longer roots in mixture than in monoculture under drought.
- Taxon
- ryeSecale cerealee6
- Treatment
- mixturee7
- Outcome
- rootse7
- Direction
- longere7
- Qualifier
- under droughte7
- Comparator
- monoculturee7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e6“crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum) and rye (Secale cereale)”
e7“Both species grew longer roots in mixture than in monoculture under drought”
Claim · model-written summary
Total biomass of crimson clover and rye mixtures did not differ significantly from the more-productive rye monoculture in any water condition.
- Taxon
- crimson clover and ryee7
- Treatment
- mixturese0
- Outcome
- total biomasse0
- Qualifier
- in any water conditione0
- Comparator
- more-productive monoculture (rye)e0
Not reportedDirection
Verbatim
e0“total biomass of mixtures did not differ significantly from the more-productive monoculture (rye) in any water condition”
e7“growing crimson clover and rye together has potential to ameliorate water stress”
Claim · model-written summary
Growing crimson clover and rye together may ameliorate water stress and should be investigated in field experiments.
Verbatim
e7“growing crimson clover and rye together has potential to ameliorate water stress”
The same questions in other papers
flooding · growth · Secale cereale (rye)Positive and negative results
3 papers in the same direction as this paper · 1 in the opposite direction
- positive
- negative
- negative
1 paper more in this group
See all 5 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.