Productivity, soil fertility and soil health benefits associated with intercropping small grains and oilseeds with legumes in the semi-arid environment of the Canadian Prairies
Date
2025-04
Authors
McAuley, Warren P.
Bourgault, Maryse
Congreves, Kate A.
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Abstract
Intercropping is a promising strategy to diversify cropping systems and contribute to improving the sustainability and resiliency of agriculture. However, there is a lack of knowledge about specific combinations of crop species that could be grown in large-scale mechanized systems, and this hinders adoption of this practice. In addition, few studies have looked at intercropping legume crops with small grain and oilseed crops and their comparative benefits on productivity, soil fertility and soil health indicators, simultaneously. Our study addressed this knowledge gap by comparing several intercrop combinations: pea-canola, lentil-wheat, chickpea-flax, faba bean-oat, faba bean-wheat, faba bean-canola, faba bean-flax, and comparing with monoculture controls for each crop. Land equivalent ratios (LERs) suggested that pea-canola, chickpea-flax, and faba bean-flax intercrops were more productive than when grown as monocrops, but only the pea-canola LER was marginally significantly higher than one (p = 0.087). Intercrops of cereals and legumes tended to do poorly; in particular, oat outcompeted faba bean completely in both years. Soil N and P fluxes showed few or no differences between monocrops and intercrop combinations and did not explain the better performance of the pea-canola, chickpea-flax or faba bean-flax intercrops. Soil water-soluble nitrogen trends were related to fertilization. However, both permanganate oxidation carbon (POX-C, also known as active C), and autoclave-citrate extractable (ACE) protein were significantly increased in legume monocrops compared to non-legume monocrops between grain filling and post-harvest, with intercrops showing intermediary values. Overall, our results indicate that intercropping legumes with oilseeds—even in a northern semi-arid region—can produce direct short-term benefits. These early indicators of soil health change bode well for the longer-term success and continued benefits of intercropping systems.
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Keywords
intercrop, soil health, legumes, soil protein, active carbon
Citation
McAuley, W. P., Bourgault, M., & Congreves, K. A. (2025). Productivity, soil fertility and soil health benefits associated with intercropping small grains and oilseeds with legumes in the semi-arid environment of the Canadian Prairies. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 389, 109694-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.109694
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DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.109694