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greenmachine11235 t1_izhnazf wrote

The focus of cover crops isn't carbon sequestration its to prevent run off which is a hugely damaging problem for bodies of water especially when the runoff is highly fertilized land used for agriculture. If the cover crop has some carbon sequestration effects then great its an extra bonus but its not the primary purpose of the crop.

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Imminent_Extinction t1_izhq6fq wrote

Looks like the article acknowledges that:

> These off-season plantings have long been used to keep soil and nutrients in place and prevent runoff that fouls waterways. But that’s not why they’ve become a linchpin of the red-hot climate-smart and regenerative agriculture movements. With support from influential international bodies like the IPCC and leaders like former vice president Al Gore and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, cover crops are being asked to do something new and high-stakes: draw atmospheric carbon into the soil to help fight climate change.

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commandakeen t1_izjc6pv wrote

Also I like to mention soil erosion and loss.

Especially in corn agriculture on hillsides you need a cover crop or you lose good soil at a crazy rate.

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mem_somerville OP t1_izhb8bu wrote

Paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.16489

Recent cover crop adoption is associated with small maize and soybean yield losses in the United States

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herenextyear t1_izhg4z7 wrote

I have a few questions. From what I can access Of this paper, the reduced yield was on large scale monocrop farms? Could this be due to the large corn/soybean monocrop system requiring more inputs that would already be present in, in sufficient quantity, the smaller more diverse agricultural methods?

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mem_somerville OP t1_izhge96 wrote

They looked at large areas which probably include different types of cropping systems.

But if you lose something from the already much lower organic yields, maybe it's harder to tell?

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SpiritualCash5124 t1_izhdig3 wrote

Found a way to crook the science, huh? "Information is our most polluted resource" -R. B. F.

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mem_somerville OP t1_izhhvyx wrote

Who is crooking this? The climate claims, or promoters of regenerative ag? Or something else?

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