The impact of residue and cover crop management on soil water and temperature regimes in a loam soil in North Dakota

Abstract In the Northern Great Plains, the period between small grain harvest and the first killing frost leaves soil vulnerable to erosion, particularly if crop residue is removed or reduced by tillage. Integrating cover crops can reduce erosion risk and improve soil health, but in water‐limited areas, overwintering cover crops may lower soil water content and delay spring germination. This eastern North Dakota study evaluated how crop residues and cover crops influence soil temperature and water content. Three treatments were tested after barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.): (1) bare soil, (2) barley residue, and (3) cereal rye ( Secale cereale L.) and flax ( Linum usitatissimum L.) cover crops no‐till drilled into barley residue, producing 224 kg ha −1 of aboveground spring biomass. Soil temperature, water content, net radiation ( R n ), and soil heat flux ( G ) were measured from April 18 to May 23, 2023. Surface cover significantly affected R n , G , and temperature compared to bare soil. Bare soil had the greatest cumulative R n and G , which increased soil temperatures at the 3‐cm depth (9.3°C) compared to barley residue (7.9°C) and cover crops (7.6°C). Although bare soil had higher mean temperatures, it had the lowest minimum temperature during cooling periods. Despite expectations that cover crops would reduce soil water, no significant differences were observed.