ÖPUL
COVER
CROPS

ÖPUL cover crops

2012 until 2013

The Austrian Agri-Environmental Program ÖPUL has been developed to promote agriculture which is environmentally suitable, extensive and protects the natural habitat. Within this program cover crops and mulching measures that help to protect soil and groundwater are being supported.

The aim of this project was to find out the scope for improvement, focusing especially on the effects on soil, water and climate protection. Thus, the stock development and the resulting accumulation of organic matter deriving from the cultivation and incorporation of cover crops with different tillage equipment were being assessed in cooperation with the Institute for Land and Water Management Research (BAW-IKT). This was carried out in several field trials followed by calculating erosion and organic matter.