The Pennsylvania State University received a $149,791 Project Grant award from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive grants program. The grant will fund research from June 1, 2023 through November 30, 2025 to develop a molecular method for quantifying the composition of functionally diverse cover crop species mixtures belowground. Specifically, the university will refine the method, determine the extent to which aboveground and belowground cover crop composition reflects one another in mixtures, and evaluate whether root composition predicts ecosystem service provisioning. Outcomes will include applying the root abundance quantification method more broadly, enhancing understanding of cover crop allocation in mixtures, identifying mechanisms governing ecosystem service delivery from mixtures, and ultimately improving cover crop mixture design and adoption. The research aims to advance knowledge of belowground cover crop dynamics to enable designing mixtures that provide a wider range of ecosystem benefits.
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