Early impacts of cover crop selection on soil biological parameters during a transition to organic agriculture

Although Texas is not widely known for organic production, it is responsible for most organic peanut production in the US. When managed effectively, this can be a lucrative practice due to consumer demands. However, farmers pursuing organic management must undergo a three-year transition period to obtain United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) certification, which is often associated with depressed yields. The objective of this study was to measure the impact of organic management and cover crop selection on biological indicators of soil health during the second year of transitioning to an organic cotton-peanut rotation in West Texas. We conducted a field study at 2 locations, and soil health indicators including in situ respiration, carbon mineralization, enzyme activities, and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) were measured.
The use of a cover crop resulted in generally greater biological activities compared to the fallow after only one cover crop rotation, representing early el..., Please refer to \"Early Impacts of Cover Crop Selection on Soil Biological Parameters During a Transition to Organic Agriculture\" for methodology. , , # Data from: Early Impacts of Cover Crop Selection on Soil Biological Parameters During a Transition to Organic Agriculture

## Description of the data and file structure

Tabs labelled “ConventionalOnly” include data solely from conventionally managed plots. Tabs labelled “OrgCon” contain data from both organically managed and conventionally managed plots for split-plot analysis.

Missing or uncollected data are depicted with “.”

Variable information:

-        Obs = number of observations

-        Location = site location

                        -   Lubb = Lubbock, TX

                        -   Vern = Vernon, TX

-        Event = sampling event (April, May, June, July, August, September, and November; labelled numerically)

-        Depth = sampling depth

                           -   1 = 0-10 cm

                           -   2 = 10-20 cm

-        Plot_no = plot number

-        Rep = replicate number

-        Trt = treatment

                            -   2 = organic, ry...