During his PhD studies, Carlos Rolando (Junior) Fernandez Pulido researched cover crops (legumes, grasses, brassicas, and forbs), their plant traits, and their effects on crop yield and nitrogen dynamics during both the cover crop season and the subsequent cash crop season. Junior studied the mechanistic link between above- and below-ground cover crop traits and nitrogen losses using cover crop monocultures. Additionally, he investigated the optimal companion species for legumes in cover crop mixtures to enhance the yield of spring barley under high and low nitrogen fertilization, while also aiming to reduce nitrogen losses through nitrate leachate and nitrous oxide emissions.

The new research findings provide a framework to understand how to design legume-based cover crop mixtures to balance crop production with N losses.

The PhD study was completed at Department of Agroecology, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University.

This summary was prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Wednesday. 21 May 2025 at 11:30
Place: Møderom 2, Bygning 8814, Lokale 3050, AU Foulum, Blichers Allé 20, 8830 Tjele.
Title of PhD thesis: Exploring Cover Crop Mixtures Based On Key Plant Traits To Improve Nitrogen Use Efficiency
Contact information: Carlos Rolando (Junior) Fernandez Pulido, e-mail: crfp@agro.au.dk
Members of the assessment committee:
Professor (Associate) Alberto Sanz-Cobeña, Technical University of Madrid, Spain
Senior researcher Gerard Velthof, Sustainable Soil Use, Wageningen Environmental Research, The Netherlands
Senior researcher Fiona Hay (chair), Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University
Main supervisor: Senior researcher Diego Abalos, Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Denmark
Co-supervisor: Professor Søren O. Petersen, Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Denmark
Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English

The defense is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Technical Sciences/GSTS, Jens Baggesens Vej 53, Building 5221, 8200 Aarhus N.