The cover crops used were hairy vetch and cereal rye. After soybean harvest the hairy vetch was seeded in the
fall and was burned in the following spring just before planting corn. The cereal rye was seeded in the fall after
corn harvest and burned in the spring before planting soybeans. These cover crops reduced soil erosion and
helped retain the SOC rich sediment in the plot area and contributed to the biomass (tops and roots) returned to
the soils and both contributed to increased net SOC stocks. The plot area is located in the southern tip of Illinois
with a longer growing season than central or northern Illinois which made it easier to establish the hairy vetch
and cereal rye and create more biomass before the cover crops were chemically burned in the spring to return
residue and roots to the soil.