Regenerating Agricultural Landscapes with Perennial Groundcover for Intensive Crop Production

• Published in: Agronomy (Basel) Vol. 9; no. 8; p. 458
• Main Authors: Moore, Kenneth J., Anex, Robert P., Elobeid, Amani E., Fei, Shuizhang, Flora, Cornelia B., Goggi, A. Susana, Jacobs, Keri L., Jha, Prashant, Kaleita, Amy L., Karlen, Douglas L., Laird, David A., Lenssen, Andrew W., Lübberstedt, Thomas, McDaniel, Marshall D., Raman, D. Raj, Weyers, Sharon L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 15.08.2019
• Subjects: Agricultural land; Biodegradation; Biodiesel fuels; Biofuels; Biomass; Cereal crops; Climate change; Corn; crop breeding; crop diversity; Crop production; crop rotation; cropping system; Cropping systems; Crops; Ecosystem management; Ecosystem restoration; Ecosystem services; Ecosystems; Environmental impact; Environmental risk; Fertilizers; Glycine max; Grain; Grain crops; Grasses; Ground cover; ground cover plants; groundcover; Hydrology; Indigenous plants; indigenous species; integrated pest management; intensive cropping; intercropping; landscape restoration; landscapes; maize; Management systems; Midwestern United States; Nutrients; perennial; perennials; Plant communities; Prairies; Service restoration; Soil degradation; Soil erosion; soil health; soil quality; Soil water; soybean; Soybeans; Systems stability; technology adoption; Vegetation; Water quality; Zea mays; United States > US; Iowa; Midwestern United States
• DOI: 10.3390/agronomy9080458
• ISSN: 2073-4395

The Midwestern U.S. landscape is one of the most highly altered and intensively managed ecosystems in the country. The predominant crops grown are maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr]. They are typically grown as monocrops in a simple yearly rotation or with multiple years of maize (2 to 3) followed by a single year of soybean. This system is highly productive because the crops and management systems have been well adapted to the regional growing conditions through substantial public and private investment. Furthermore, markets and supporting infrastructure are highly developed for both crops. As maize and soybean production have intensified, a number of concerns have arisen due to the unintended environmental impacts on the ecosystem. Many areas across the Midwest are experiencing negative impacts on water quality, soil degradation, and increased flood risk due to changes in regional hydrology. The water quality impacts extend even further downstream. We propose the development of an innovative system for growing maize and soybean with perennial groundcover to recover ecosystem services historically provided naturally by predominantly perennial native plant communities. Reincorporating perennial plants into annual cropping systems has the potential of restoring ecosystem services without negatively impacting grain crop production and offers the prospect of increasing grain crop productivity through improving the biological functioning of the system.