Cover crops

Annual Mediterranean legume — strong fit for IT and EL. Multiple cuts possible, fixes 100–200 kg N/ha, integrates with spring-planted hemp or miscanthus.

Summer-quick non-legume; flowers in 30 days, biomass in 60. Mobilises soil phosphorus and competes with weeds — fits the gap between an early-harvested cereal and an autumn cover.

Short-season brassica cover with oilseed harvest potential. Low input, tolerates marginal land — fits LV/RO rotations before spring construction-crop planting.

Annual legume cover, autumn-sown in temperate Europe. Fixes 60–150 kg N/ha and adds 3–5 t dry biomass/ha before a spring miscanthus or hemp planting.

Brassica with deep taproot — bio-drilling for compacted soils, frost-killed in northern winters. Good fit before spring-planted miscanthus on heavier land.

Cover crops used in flax/hemp rotation to reduce nitrogen leaching and build organic matter; more room created by late sowing date of hemp.

Winter-hardy legume cover, often paired with rye. Fixes 80–200 kg N/ha, biomass typically 4–7 t/ha before spring termination.

Green manure/cover crop used in the flax/hemp rotation on clay soils. Produces high (underground) biomass, strongly increasing soil organic matter when incorporated.

Cover crop used before fibre flax to capture residual nitrogen and reduce leaching risk. Adds organic matter to soil.

Cover crop (bladrammenas) used after summer barley and hemp in rotation on northeastern peat colony soils. No additional fertilisation applied as cover crop.

Non-legume, non-brassica break crop. Fast cover, top pollinator value, releases nutrients quickly into the spring slot — a clean reset between rotations.

Short-lived perennial legume; persists 2–3 years undersown in cereals, fixes 150–250 kg N/ha cumulatively. Strong companion in NL/LV crop rotations preceding a perennial construction crop.

Low-input legume cover for sandy / poor soils. Common in PT/IT/EL rotations; fixes 80–150 kg N/ha and tolerates dry summers.

Peat-forming moss species used in peatland restoration and revegetation to rebuild carbon-storing bog habitats.

Warm-season tropical legume — grows fast in Mediterranean summers (IT, EL). Fixes 100–200 kg N/ha and produces 5–9 t dry biomass per cycle.

Large-rooted radish bred for bio-tillage on compacted arable soil. Frost-kills in northern Europe; the decaying taproot opens drainage channels before a spring miscanthus crop.

Deep-taprooting legume, tolerates acidic and low-fertility soils. Fixes 100–200 kg N/ha and unlocks soil-bound phosphorus.

Quick brassica cover, suppresses soil-borne pests and lifts 60–100 kg residual N. Frost-killed in most NL/RO winters — leaves a low-residue spring seedbed.

Cover/catch crop sown after maize in the miscanthus rotation scenario to reduce nitrogen leaching.