Crop rotation and a rye cover crop have minor impacts on soil health, microbial communities, and soybean yield in Ohio

Summary

This field study examined whether diversified corn-soy-wheat rotation and a winter rye cover crop, relative to simpler rotations without a cover crop, meaningfully altered soil health indicators and microbial community structure at two sites in Ohio. Using both short- and long-read amplicon sequencing platforms, the authors characterised bacterial, fungal, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in the soybean rhizosphere alongside standard soil health parameters. The study concludes that, under the conditions tested, these management practices produced only minor changes in soil biology and chemistry, and did not substantially influence soybean yield, suggesting that detectable soil health benefits may require longer time horizons or more intensive management contrasts.

UK applicability

This study is conducted in the US Midwest under Ohio conditions and rotations centred on soybean and maize, crops not grown at comparable scale in the UK. However, the findings regarding the limited short-term soil health response to cover cropping and rotation diversification are broadly relevant to UK arable systems where winter cover crops and rotation policy are active areas of Sustainable Farming Incentive guidance and research.

Key measures

Soil organic carbon; total soil nitrogen; soil organic matter; soybean yield; rhizosphere bacterial community composition (Illumina amplicon sequencing); rhizosphere fungal community composition (PacBio long-read amplicon sequencing); arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community composition; soil health indices

Outcomes reported

The study measured soil carbon, nitrogen, soil organic matter, rhizosphere microbial community composition (bacteria, fungi, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi), and soybean yield across corn-soy-wheat rotations with and without a rye cover crop at two Ohio sites. It found generally small or minor impacts of rotation and cover crop treatment on the measured soil health and microbial parameters.

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