Digging Deeper – Cover Crops & N2O Emissions

A pair of short-duration studies on Illinois fields suggested that cover crops reduce nitrate leaching (a win for water quality) but may increase nitrous oxide (N₂O, a greenhouse gas). ISAP wanted to dig deeper into potential trade-offs and understand the environmental costs and benefits of cover crops.

This guide describes denitrification, a microbial process that is responsible for most N2O emissions from agricultural soils, and breaks down scientific literature to understand the larger picture of cover crops and N2O.

Find the link to the two-page factsheet on the right. A longer version is also now available at the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation here: https://doi.org/10.1080/00224561.2025.2580218.