Environmental impact of introducing legumes into cropping system in temperate regions

Abstract

The use of legumes in cropping system is one measure that has been taken in agricultural production to increase environmental protection and to encourage sustainable use of natural resources. Legumes offer many benefits to sustainable agriculture and the integration of legumes into cropping systems brings costs and benefits, both internal and external to the farm. For ecological reasons, legumes are gaining increasing importance. Legume can be easily included in a crop rotation and, in contrast to grasses and crucifers, contribute additional N to the nutrient cycle by symbiosis. Some of this N can be used later as animal feed in the form of protein in herbage while the rest of the accumulated N can be taken up by subsequent crops. On the basis of experiments conducted in Serbia it can be concluded that the management decision concerning the use of legumes as cover crops should be based on the balance between farm profitability and environmental sustainability.