Cover Crops as Nature-Based Climate Solutions in the Midwestern US: Potential Benefits, Knowledge Gaps, and Opportunities for Transdisciplinary Work

Abstract

Less than 6% of US farmlands are cover cropped, an on-farm management practice with potential to sequester carbon and provide environmental co-benefits (e.g., improved soil health and water quality). Despite their promise as a nature-based climate solution that can enhance soil carbon storage, cover crops remain underutilized, in part due to farmer perceptions that benefits are not assured and management risk is high. This scoping review synthesizes research from multiple disciplines to identify persistent knowledge gaps that limit both the effectiveness and sustained adoption of cover cropping. We focus on Midwestern US agroecosystems, where scientists generally agree that cover cropping has the potential to increase soil organic carbon and contribute to long-term carbon sequestration. Our synthesis reveals critical challenges across domains: carbon outcomes are highly variable across space and time; water and nutrient dynamics exhibit tradeoffs and context dependence; economic returns remain difficult to quantify; and adoption patterns are shaped by feedbacks between perceived risk, observed outcomes, system constraints, and social factors such as norms and identity. We use Ostrom's social-ecological systems framework to structure our analysis across biophysical, economic, and social domains, linking scientific uncertainty to real-world implementation barriers. The review culminates in a set of research priorities designed to advance transdisciplinary work on cover cropping, clarify its climate mitigation potential, improve the design of private and public interventions, and support adaptive management.