Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID LA_2023_Zhang

Exploring the potential of using cover cropping for making soil resilient to extreme weather and promoting weather-proofing agriculture

Institute: Louisiana
Year Established: 2023 Start Date: 2023-09-01 End Date: 2024-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $18,902 Total Non-Federal Funds: $18,904

Principal Investigators: Xi Zhang

Project Summary: Cropping system is highly susceptible to drought. However, the southern United States is experiencing increasing variability in rainfall, which can lead to more frequent soil water deficits during the growing seasons and an increased risk of yield losses. It is critical to develop management practices that buffer against water stress and sustain crop productivity. Cover cropping is increasingly considered in recent years to improve soil drought resilience; however, cover crop transpiration depletes soil water and might reduce available water for subsequent cash crop. The response of soil moisture status to cover cropping depends on environmental and management conditions. It is still unclear how cover cropping influences water balance in humid subtropical regions. Therefore, this project aims to comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness of adopting cover cropping within crop production to improve soil drought resilience and minimize crop yield losses in Louisiana.