. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Aug 9.

Published in final edited form as: Trans ASABE. 2021;64(2):691–704. doi: 10.13031/trans.14017

Table 1.

Summary of equal annualized net revenues (in dollars per hectare per year), calculated over 10 years, and mean annual subsurface nitrate loss calculated from the literature data for each cropping system (fig. 3). Cost analysis results are based on costs and statistics for Iowa or similar states in the U.S. Corn Belt. C = corn (Zea mays [L.]), S = soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.), A = alfalfa (Medicago sativa [L.]), W = winter wheat (Triticum aestivum [L.]), O = oat (Avena sativa [L.]). The number of studies for each mean nitrate loss value is shown in parentheses.

Cropping System	Definition	Net Revenue ($ ha⁻¹ year⁻¹)	Mean Subsurface NO₃ Loss (kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹)
CS	Corn-soybean	141.83	32.4 (16)
CC	Continuous corn	81.74	31.3 (12)
CSW	Corn-soybean-wheat	36.00	12.2 (1)
AAACSO	Alfalfa-alfalfa-alfalfa-corn-soybean-oat	8.24	11.8 (1)
CSAAA	Corn-soybean-alfalfa-alfalfa-alfalfa	−80.51	-
COAAA	Corn-oat-alfalfa-alfalfa-alfalfa	−99.97	13.4^[a] (2)
A	Continuous alfalfa	−202.66	22.3 (4)

^[a]

Mean annual nitrate loss for COAA rotation.