Summary
Good establishment of cover crops early after harvest of the main crop is challenging and requires optimized sowing time to maximize ecosystem services in Northwestern Europe. We quantified the abilities of three cover crop species, fodder radish ( Raphanus sativus ), oats ( Avena sativa ), and phacelia ( Phacelia tanacetifolia ) to (i) take up nitrogen (N), reduce nitrate leaching when sown at four sowing times from 10 Aug to 7 Sep at two sandy loam sites in Denmark (Foulum and Flakkebjerg) during two percolation periods of 2022–23 and 2023–24, and (ii) provide carbon (C) input to the soil at two sowing times at Flakkebjerg in 2023. N uptake and nitrate leaching reduction declined with delayed sowing time. The decline followed different patterns for N uptake and nitrate leaching reduction
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