Understanding the reduction of nitrogen leaching by catch crops

A simulation model for catch crop growth and soil water and nitrogen dynamics was developed and used to evaluate the effect of crop characteristics and weather conditions on catch crop nitrogen (N) uptake and N leaching. The model was developed for winter rye and fodder radish. For model development, several experiments were conducted to quantify catch crop growth and N uptake, based on the rates of underlying processes like CO2 assimilation, leaf and root expansion, and N uptake at the root level. Moreover, for the development and testing of the soil model, data were collected in detailed experiments on N mineralization rates of catch crop material, soil water dynamics and N leaching...