A Global Metadata of the Influence of Cover Crops on Key Soil Hydraulic Properties

We present a global metadata comprising results from studies investigating the effects of cover crops (CCs) on six key soil hydraulic properties, namely total porosity, infiltration rate, saturated hydraulic conductivity, water retention at field capacity and permanent wilting points, and available water holding capacity. This data repository is the result of a global meta-analysis entitled “Cover crop performance and functional groups regulate improvements in Soil Hydrology: A Global Meta-analysis". Globally, numerous studies have investigated the role of CCs on soil hydraulic properties, but the results have varied across sites and years. Hence, the objective of the meta-analysis was to synthesize existing knowledge base to assess overall effects of CCs on these soil hydraulic properties and evaluate how environmental and management factors moderate these overall CC responses. We searched for peer-reviewed research articles published through 5th October 2024 in the ISI Web of Science database and reference checking following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A total of 146 relevant articles were identified from which data on CC responses were extracted. The metadata consists of 1007 pairwise observations comparing CC vs no-CC controls across diverse geographic regions worldwide. Moreover, we collected associated metadata for each pairwise comparison that includes a broad set of bibliographic, geographic, soil, climate, and management variables. Categorical variables were grouped into pre-defined factor levels or classes. Missing soil and climate data were filled using publicly available data-products. Our data repository can be a valuable resource for the field and modeling community to identify knowledge gaps and guide future research.