Dr Sjoerd W. Duiker is Professor of Soil Management and Applied Soil Physics at The Pennsylvania State University, USA. He has made significant contributions to both research and extension in developing more sustainable soil management practices in such areas as no-till systems, the use of cover crops, mulches and more diverse crop rotations. He is a member of the Governing Board of the Northeast Cover Crops Council which brings together universities, farmers, government agencies and others to optimise cover crop use in the north-eastern states of the USA.

Dr Andy Clark recently retired as National Communications Director of the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program. The SARE Program operates under cooperative agreements between the University of Maryland, USA and the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Dr Clark led the communications arm of the SARE Program that was instrumental in developing and disseminating sustainable crop and livestock management practices in the United States. As Communications Director, Dr Clark oversaw the development of more than 40 publications, including editing the Third Edition of the SARE publication Managing Cover Crops Profitably, widely regarded as the standard reference for farmers, agronomists and others interested in adoption of cover crops on farms in the United States.

Part 1 Understanding the role of cover crops

• 1.The role of cover crops in optimising nutrient cycles: Yajun Peng, University of Guelph, Canada;
• 2.The role of cover crops in improving soil biological health: Michelle Wander, University of Illinois, USA;
• 3.The role of cover crops in improving biodiversity: Deirdre Prischmann-Voldseth, North Dakota State University, USA;
• 4.The role of cover crops in pest and disease control: Nic Irvin, University of California-Riverside, USA;
• 5.The role of cover crops in weed control: John Wallace, Penn State University, USA;
• 6.The role of cover crops in forage production: Heather Darby, University of Vermont, USA;
• 7.Assessing the effects of cover crops on cash crop yields: Inderjot Chahal, University of Guelph, Canada;

Part 2 Managing cover crops

• 8.Cover crop decision support tools: Victoria Ackroyd, USDA-ARS, USA;
• 9.Cover crop establishment: Andy Clark, formerly University of Maryland and USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), USA, and Sjoerd W. Duiker, Penn State University, USA;
• 10.Key challenges in terminating cover crops: Alyssa Essman, Ohio State University, USA;

Part 3 Cover crop species

• 11.Cool season leguminous cover crops: Masoud Hashemi, University of Massachusetts, USA;
• 12.Warm season leguminous cover crops: Andrew Price, USDA-ARS, USA;
• 13.Cool season gramineous cover crops: Humberto Blanco, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA;
• 14.Warm season gramineous cover crops: Matt Ryan, Cornell University, USA;
• 15.Non-leguminous broadleaf cover crops: Christina Curell, Michigan State University, USA;

Part 4 The future of cover crops

• 16.Strategies to increase cover crop adoption: Ken Staver, University of Maryland, USA;
• 17.The future of cover crops: opportunities and challenges: Sjoerd W. Duiker, Penn State University, USA and Andy Clark, formerly SARE-USDA, USA;