Summer Cover Crop Effects on Wheat Yield and Soil Carbon in Italy

The dataset originates from a three-year field experiment in northern Italy assessing five ground-cover treatments and three nitrogen fertilizer rates. It measures effects on wheat yield, grain protein concentration, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), and soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics.

Use Cases

• Analyze wheat yield and grain protein concentration responses to different nitrogen rates (0, 90, 150 kg N ha⁻¹) across cover crop treatments.
• Model the relationship between cover crop residue quality (e.g., legume-based vs. sorghum) and soil organic carbon (SOC) gains, particularly in the mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) fraction.
• Compare nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) trends across years to evaluate the impact of high nitrogen fertilization (150 kg N ha⁻¹).
• Assess the trade-offs between soil C sequestration under sorghum residues and the required nitrogen inputs to sustain yield and grain quality.

Strengths

• Data is derived from a three-year controlled field experiment.
• Measures multiple agronomic and soil variables including yield, protein, NUE, and SOC across five cover treatments and three N rates.
• Reports specific quantitative findings, such as a SOC increase of approximately 6 Mg C ha⁻¹ compared to fallow.

Limitations

• The dataset is small, contained within a 415.2 KB PDF file, limiting direct computational analysis.
• Sample data and column definitions are unavailable, requiring manual extraction from the research paper.
• Findings are specific to a three-year study in northern Italy, limiting generalizability to other regions or longer timeframes.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Paolo Colombatto.

Collection Method

Three-year field experiment in northern Italy.

Time Range

Three-year study period.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-20.

Geography

Northern Italy.