IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i17p7362-d1464820.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unveiling the Opportunities of Unexplored Use of Cover Crop in Mediterranean Agriculture through Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Zakaria Islem Ziche

    (Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM Bari), Via Ceglie 9, 70010 Valenzao, Italy
    Geo-Biosphere Interactions Group, Department of Geosciences, University of Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany)

  • Giuseppe Natale Mezzapesa

    (Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM Bari), Via Ceglie 9, 70010 Valenzao, Italy)

  • Giovanna Dragonetti

    (Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM Bari), Via Ceglie 9, 70010 Valenzao, Italy)

  • Lea Piscitelli

    (Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM Bari), Via Ceglie 9, 70010 Valenzao, Italy)

Abstract

Cover crops are multifunctional, and contribute to improving soil properties and reducing environmental impact compared to no-cover crops, thus could provide multiple soil, agricultural, and environmental benefits, and they are recognized as a valid strategy for the achievement of sustainable agriculture. However, cover crops’ impacts on subsequent cash crops and soil characteristics are dependent on several factors, such as pedoclimatic conditions, cover crop species, agricultural practices, method of termination, and irrigation management. The fact that cover crops are never applied as a single practice in the real agricultural sector, but are instead combined with other factors or agricultural practices, deeply affects their performance, but the scientific literature nevertheless keeps considering the use of cover crops alone. Moreover, the potential outcomes of cover crops that encompass other factors or agricultural practices affecting soil quality, weed control, and cash crops are still unclear. Additionally, cover crops are still poorly use in the Mediterranean type of climate. Therefore, this study reviewed the scientific literature to identify the most relevant factors or agricultural practices driving cover crops’ performance, and to outline future fields of investigation looking towards promising sustainable agriculture in Mediterranean areas with a view to minimizing the competition for soil water with the cropping systems and to reduce soil degradation. Furthermore, the investigation includes multiple factors or agricultural practices that better represent the real farming system, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of their interactions with cover crops, and suggests alternative strategies for reducing yield gap while seeking to achieve agricultural sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Zakaria Islem Ziche & Giuseppe Natale Mezzapesa & Giovanna Dragonetti & Lea Piscitelli, 2024. "Unveiling the Opportunities of Unexplored Use of Cover Crop in Mediterranean Agriculture through Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-19, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:17:p:7362-:d:1464820
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/17/7362/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/17/7362/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Roberto Mancinelli & Rosario Muleo & Sara Marinari & Emanuele Radicetti, 2019. "How Soil Ecological Intensification by Means of Cover Crops Affects Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Pepper Cultivation," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-12, July.
    2. Serkan Aglasan & Roderick M. Rejesus & Stephen Hagen & William Salas, 2024. "Cover crops, crop insurance losses, and resilience to extreme weather events," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 106(4), pages 1410-1434, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mohamed Allam & Emanuele Radicetti & Valentina Quintarelli & Verdiana Petroselli & Sara Marinari & Roberto Mancinelli, 2022. "Influence of Organic and Mineral Fertilizers on Soil Organic Carbon and Crop Productivity under Different Tillage Systems: A Meta-Analysis," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-19, March.
    2. Md Nafiul Islam & Md Zafar Iqbal & Mohammod Ali & Milon Chowdhury & Md Shaha Nur Kabir & Tusan Park & Yong-Joo Kim & Sun-Ok Chung, 2020. "Kinematic Analysis of a Clamp-Type Picking Device for an Automatic Pepper Transplanter," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-17, December.
    3. Mariano Fracchiolla & Massimiliano Renna & Miriana Durante & Giovanni Mita & Francesco Serio & Eugenio Cazzato, 2021. "Cover Crops and Manure Combined with Commercial Fertilizers Differently Affect Yield and Quality of Processing Tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) Organically Grown in Puglia," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-10, August.
    4. Jolanta Bojarszczuk & Janusz Podleśny, 2020. "Segetal Diversity in Selected Legume Crops Depending on Soil Tillage," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-14, December.
    5. Dorota Gawęda & Małgorzata Haliniarz & Urszula Bronowicka-Mielniczuk & Justyna Łukasz, 2020. "Weed Infestation and Health of the Soybean Crop Depending on Cropping System and Tillage System," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-20, June.
    6. Valentina Quintarelli & Emanuele Radicetti & Enrica Allevato & Silvia Rita Stazi & Ghulam Haider & Zainul Abideen & Safia Bibi & Aftab Jamal & Roberto Mancinelli, 2022. "Cover Crops for Sustainable Cropping Systems: A Review," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-21, December.
    7. Mohamed Allam & Emanuele Radicetti & Verdiana Petroselli & Roberto Mancinelli, 2021. "Meta-Analysis Approach to Assess the Effects of Soil Tillage and Fertilization Source under Different Cropping Systems," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-16, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:17:p:7362-:d:1464820. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.