DOI: 10.5061/dryad.pk5n1p4
title: Data from: Winter cover crop legacy effects on litter decomposition act through litter quality and microbial community changes

description: 1. In agriculture, winter cover crop (WCC) residues are incorporated into
 the soil to improve soil quality, as gradual litter decomposition can
 improve fertility. Decomposition rate is determined by litter quality,
 local soil abiotic and biotic properties. However, how these factors are
 interlinked and influenced by cropping history is unclear. 2. We grew WCC
 monocultures and mixtures in rotation with main crops Avena sativa and
 Cichorium endivia and tested how crop rotation influences WCC litter
 quality, abiotic and biotic soil conditions, and litter decomposition
 rates. To disentangle WCC litter quality effects from WCC soil legacy
 effects on decomposition, we tested how rotation history influences
 decomposition of standard substrates and explored the underlying
 mechanisms. 3. In a common environment (e.g. winter fallow plots), WCC
 decomposition rate constants (k) correlated negatively with litter C,
 lignin and, surprisingly, N content, due to strong positive correlations
 among these traits. Plots with a history of fast-decomposing WCCs
 exhibited faster decomposition of their own litters as well as of the
 standard substrates filter paper and rooibos tea, as compared to winter
 fallow plots. 4. WCC treatments differentially affected soil microbial
 biomass, as well as soil organic matter and mineral nitrogen content.
 WCC-induced soil changes affected decomposition rates. Depending on the
 main crop rotation treatment, legacy effects were attributed to biomass
 input of WCCs and their litter quality or changes in microbial biomass. 5.
 Synthesis and applications: These results demonstrate that decomposition
 in cropping systems is influenced directly through crop residues, as well
 as through crop-induced changes in soil biotic properties. Rotation
 history influences decomposition, wherein productive winter cover crops
 with low lignin content decompose fast and stimulate the turn-over of both
 own and newly added residues via their knock-on effect on the soil
 microbial community. Thus, winter cover crops have promise for sustainable
 carbon- and nutrient-cycling management through litter feedbacks.
description: Decomposition rates,
 litter traits, and abiotic and biotic soil propertiesData from field
 experiment on litter decomposition in crop rotation with cover crops
 (2014-2015), including chemical litter traits (C, N, lignin), mass loss en
 decomposition rates of winter cover crop litter and standard substrates
 (filter paper, bamboo, green tea, rooibos tea). Data presented by
 litterbag and by plot. Soil properties include: mineral N, potential N
 mineralisation, soil organic matter, soil pH, and also concentrations of
 PLFA markers and ergosterol. Daily averages of soil temperature and
 moisture present for limited number of plots. Names of cover crops
 abbreviated as follows: Lolium perenne (Lope), Trifolium repense (Trre),
 Raphanus sativus (Rasa), Vicia sativa (Visa). Main crops: Avena sativa
 (Avsa), Cichorium endivia (Cien).Barel-JAPPL-2017-01119.R3
 data.xlsx