Influences of Soil and Temperature On Biomass Accumulation and Carbon Sequestration by Cover Crops.

Various cover crops were grown in two different soils, the Krome gravelly loam soil from Miami-Dade County, FL and the Quincy fine sandy soil from Benton County, WA under three temperatures in the environmental controlled growth chambers to evaluate their efficacy for optimal biomass accumulation and carbon sequestration. Both winter and summer legume and non-legume cover crops were included and carbon mineralization under the same controlled conditions was conducted as well. The winter cover crops are white clover, bell beans, purple vetch, triticale, ryegrass and yellow mustard; the summer cover crops are sunn hemp, velvetbean, cowpea, okra, sorghum sudangrass and castor bean, respectively. Growth status, agronomic characteristics, total quantity of biomass, total carbon accumulation and decomposition rates were assessed to provide sound information for cover crop selection and management under different environments.