Trade-off between C and N recycling and N 2 O emissions of soils with summer cover crops in subtropical agrosystems

Background and aims The use of summer cover crops (SCCs) as residue inputs in agricultural systems can lead to a potential environmental trade-off between the amount C and N retained and the emission of N as the potent greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide (N2O). Our objectives were to relate N2O fluxes to the quality of SCCs residues and to select SCCs species with high C and N addition and low N2O emissions.