Project funded
by theEU–DGEnvironment
L
and
surfacerelevant
forapplication
Artificial surface
Agriculture land
Forest and semi-natural areas
Wetlands
F
inancialcosts
(C
apital
,
operation
&
maintenance
)
Seeds cost is the most important in implementing green cover and reaches €18
and 36€/ha. Plantation and destruction also create costs. Total capital cost ranges
between €40 and 140/ha, including crushing, stubble ploughing and rolling, and
maintenance cost between €52 and 63/ha.
D
esign
Green cover can be introduced in crop rotations or as part of strip cropping.
Combinations of measures related to
soil conservation practices
will enable
water quality status improvement and flood risk reduction. Green cover should be
early sown
in order to benefit from water and sun (this may be limitation in
northern countries), be composed by species adapted to needs, such as legumes,
and have sowing density adapted to yield objectives.
S
cale
Green cover is applicable at field scale.
Green cover (including cover crops or catch crops) refers to crops sown on arable land, to
protect the soil
which would otherwise lie bare during the
winter
,
against wind and water erosion. Green cover can be inter-sown with the primary (harvested) crop or after it is harvested. Green cover is not harvested but is
plowed back into the soil. It contributes to improving the structure of the soil, diversify the cropping system, and mitigate the loss of soluble nutrients.
Casestudies:
;Covercropsandno-tillage inanOliveGrove, Spain
Green cover can be implemented on any
field and under forest.
AGRICULTURE
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