Contributions of Cover Crop Roots to Soil Health
This presentation will describe how cover crops influence soil physical properties and carbon stocks via root growth and aboveground residue inputs based on an eight-year field study in Lexington, Kentucky. It will also discuss the concept of rhizosphere priming and the conditions that favor this process when growing cover crops.
Speaker
Hanna Poffenbarger
Dr. Hanna Poffenbarger is an associate professor of soil nutrient management at University of Kentucky. She studies how carbon and nutrients cycle in soil-crop systems and uses this understanding to develop sustainable soil management practices and resilient production systems. Specific areas of interest include: nutrient capture and release by cover crops, spatiotemporal controls on nitrogen dynamics, optimal fertilization practices for crop yield and quality, and root impacts on soil organic matter formation and persistence. She also teaches Soil Nutrient Management to undergraduate and graduate students at University of Kentucky. Originally from Frederick, MD, she completed her PhD at Iowa State University and has called Kentucky home since 2018.