Crop residue management: trash or treasure?
2015
- UW Madison, Soil Science
Project Media
Crop residues provide several benefits to the soil and crop production systems. Minerals and nutrients in crop tissue are released as residue decomposes, aiding in the recycling and better utilization of nutrients by subsequent crops. During decomposition, carbon in the residue is transformed into different soil organic matter forms. These different fractions of soil organic matter play important roles in soil fertility, soil water relations, and soil biology.