Uncovering the contribution of cover crop belowground inputs on soil carbon and nitrogen storage

增加生物多样性和保持健康的土壤对加强加拿大的粮食系统至关重要，覆盖作物可能在其中发挥重要作用。覆盖作物是种植在主要作物（如玉米、大豆、西红柿）之间的植物，在秋季到次年春季期间提供土壤保护和肥沃，而此时田地通常是光秃秃的。大多数覆盖作物的研究都集中在覆盖作物的生长季节和次年，但使用覆盖作物的种植者是长期使用的。此外，影响碳氮动态等土壤指标的变化是长期的。因此，在了解覆盖作物对农业生态系统的真正影响方面存在重大差距。

Increasing biodiversity and maintaining healthy soil are critical to enhancing Canadian food systems, for which cover crops may play an important role. Cover crops are plants grown in-between main crops (eg corn, soybeans, tomatoes), providing soil protection and enrichment during the fall to following spring when fields would normally be left bare. The majority of cover crop research focuses on the cover crop growing season and the following year, but growers who use cover crops do so over the long term. Moreover, changes in soil indicators, such as those affecting C and N dynamics occur over the long-term. Thus there is a significant gap in knowledge the true impact of cover crops in agroecosystems.