{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/127435"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/127435","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Assessing cover crop impacts on agroecosystem productivity and sustainability in the U.S. Midwest","abstract":"Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2026-12-01","abstract_html":"Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2026-12-01","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Qin, Ziqi"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Natural Res & Env Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Guan, Kaiyu","Lee, Dokyoung","Ainsworth, Elizabeth","Margenot, Andrew","Tang, Jinyun"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-12-04","date_published":"2024-12-04","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:04Z","subjects":["Cover Crops","Ecosystem","Process-based Modeling","Climate Change","Soil Organic Carbon"],"languages":["en","eng"],"rights":["Copyright 2024 Ziqi Qin"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127435","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Guan, Kaiyu","Lee, Dokyoung","Ainsworth, Elizabeth","Margenot, Andrew","Tang, Jinyun"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Qin, Ziqi"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2024-12-04","2024-12"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text","Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Natural Res & Env Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Cover Crops","Ecosystem","Process-based Modeling","Climate Change","Soil Organic Carbon"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2024 Ziqi Qin"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127435"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2026-12-01","The student, Ziqi Qin, accepted the attached license on 2024-12-02 at 22:36.","The student, Ziqi Qin, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2024-12-02 at 22:39.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2024-12-04 at 17:44.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #21206 on 2025-03-28 at 14:53:16","This dissertation examines the impacts of cover crops on agroecosystem productivity and sustainability in the U.S. Midwest. Cover crops grow during the normal fallow period between main crop growing cycles to protect and enhance soil health. The U.S. Midwest agroecosystem is a dominant agricultural zone characterized by its extensive cultivation of corn and soybeans. The region faces significant environmental challenges exacerbated by climate change, including increased temperature and precipitation variability, which affect agricultural sustainability and productivity. The primary focus of this research is to address two key science questions related to cover crops: What are the impacts of cover crops on agroecosystem productivity and sustainability in the U.S. Midwest? How can we manage cover crops in the U.S. Midwest to balance agroecosystem productivity and sustainability? Chapters 2 and 3 of this dissertation investigate the impacts of cover crops on cash crop yield and soil organic carbon (SOC). These two chapters unravel the controlling factors of the cover crop impacts, including management practices and environmental conditions, and synthesize the mechanisms through which cover crops interact with agroecosystem carbon cycles. Chapter 4 introduces an innovative approach to quantify the temporary carbon benefits from nature-based climate solutions (NbCS) with a combination of the process-based model and the tonne-year accounting method, using cover crops as an example, which challenges traditional views on the necessity of long-term commitments in NbCS by demonstrating that shorter-term implementations can still achieve significant climate change mitigation benefits. In Chapter 5, the dissertation expands the scope to regional-scale impacts by applying the Model-Data Fusion (MDF) approach, which integrates remote sensing data and in-situ measurements to calibrate and validate the ecosys model, enhancing the model accuracy in predicting the environmental and agronomic impacts of cover crops across the U.S. Midwest. The findings underscore the potential increases in SOC benefits with greater governmental support and funding, such as through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) program. Chapter 6 addresses the quantification of cradle-to-farmgate Carbon Intensity (CI) using a combination of the ecosys model, Life-Cycle-Analysis (LCA), and the MDF approach. This comprehensive framework significantly reduces uncertainty in CI quantification at the field level and can be scaled to regional-level assessment, providing insights for policymakers and farmers about sustainable agricultural practices. Overall, this dissertation enhances scientific understanding and provides robust evidence supporting the strategic use of cover crops in mitigating climate change and enhancing soil health. It offers practical insights and guidelines to help farmers, policymakers, and the agri-food industry make informed decisions that contribute to sustainable agriculture in the face of climate change."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Assessing cover crop impacts on agroecosystem productivity and sustainability in the U.S. Midwest"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Guan, Kaiyu","Lee, Dokyoung","Ainsworth, Elizabeth","Margenot, Andrew","Tang, Jinyun"],"dc:creator":["Qin, Ziqi"],"dc:date":["2024-12-04","2024-12"],"dc:description":["Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2026-12-01","The student, Ziqi Qin, accepted the attached license on 2024-12-02 at 22:36.","The student, Ziqi Qin, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2024-12-02 at 22:39.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2024-12-04 at 17:44.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #21206 on 2025-03-28 at 14:53:16","This dissertation examines the impacts of cover crops on agroecosystem productivity and sustainability in the U.S. Midwest. Cover crops grow during the normal fallow period between main crop growing cycles to protect and enhance soil health. The U.S. Midwest agroecosystem is a dominant agricultural zone characterized by its extensive cultivation of corn and soybeans. The region faces significant environmental challenges exacerbated by climate change, including increased temperature and precipitation variability, which affect agricultural sustainability and productivity. The primary focus of this research is to address two key science questions related to cover crops: What are the impacts of cover crops on agroecosystem productivity and sustainability in the U.S. Midwest? How can we manage cover crops in the U.S. Midwest to balance agroecosystem productivity and sustainability? Chapters 2 and 3 of this dissertation investigate the impacts of cover crops on cash crop yield and soil organic carbon (SOC). These two chapters unravel the controlling factors of the cover crop impacts, including management practices and environmental conditions, and synthesize the mechanisms through which cover crops interact with agroecosystem carbon cycles. Chapter 4 introduces an innovative approach to quantify the temporary carbon benefits from nature-based climate solutions (NbCS) with a combination of the process-based model and the tonne-year accounting method, using cover crops as an example, which challenges traditional views on the necessity of long-term commitments in NbCS by demonstrating that shorter-term implementations can still achieve significant climate change mitigation benefits. In Chapter 5, the dissertation expands the scope to regional-scale impacts by applying the Model-Data Fusion (MDF) approach, which integrates remote sensing data and in-situ measurements to calibrate and validate the ecosys model, enhancing the model accuracy in predicting the environmental and agronomic impacts of cover crops across the U.S. Midwest. The findings underscore the potential increases in SOC benefits with greater governmental support and funding, such as through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) program. Chapter 6 addresses the quantification of cradle-to-farmgate Carbon Intensity (CI) using a combination of the ecosys model, Life-Cycle-Analysis (LCA), and the MDF approach. This comprehensive framework significantly reduces uncertainty in CI quantification at the field level and can be scaled to regional-level assessment, providing insights for policymakers and farmers about sustainable agricultural practices. Overall, this dissertation enhances scientific understanding and provides robust evidence supporting the strategic use of cover crops in mitigating climate change and enhancing soil health. It offers practical insights and guidelines to help farmers, policymakers, and the agri-food industry make informed decisions that contribute to sustainable agriculture in the face of climate change."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127435"],"dc:language":["en","eng"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2024 Ziqi Qin"],"dc:subject":["Cover Crops","Ecosystem","Process-based Modeling","Climate Change","Soil Organic Carbon"],"dc:title":["Assessing cover crop impacts on agroecosystem productivity and sustainability in the U.S. Midwest"],"dc:type":["text","Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Natural Res & Env Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:04Z"}