Interseeding cover crops into standing grains can promote both agronomic and environmental benefits within agroecosystems. Producers must decide which cover crops are the best fit for their goals, and whether diverse cover crop mixtures provide benefits that are worth the increased seed cost. Broadcast seeding is an accessible strategy to try interseeding but can lead to patchy establishment; it is unknown how much seed loss is due to seed predators. In a two-year study, six cover crop species—planted as either single species or mixtures—were interseeded into standing corn. We evaluated seed predation at the time of seeding, agronomic impact through cover crop, and weedy biomass at the end of the season, and conservation impact through activity-density of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Cover crop seeds were vulnerable to seed predation, primarily by vertebrate seed predators, and seed loss varied across cover crop species. Cover crop biomass did not differ according to cover crop diversity and weedy biomass was not affected by cover crop presence or species. Cover crop diversity effects on carabid activity-density were inconsistent: carabids were higher in diverse mixtures in 1 year of the study, but only predicted by vegetative cover, not by cover crop, in the second year. Interseeding cover crops into corn has potential benefits for ground beetles, although the value of mixtures must be further explored.

中文翻译：

---

间种覆盖作物的种子捕食及其对地面甲虫的影响

将覆盖作物播种到站立谷物中可以促进农业生态系统内的农艺和环境效益。生产者必须决定哪些覆盖作物最适合他们的目标，以及多样化的覆盖作物混合物是否提供值得增加种子成本的好处。广播播种是一种尝试播种的可行策略，但可能导致不完整的建立；目前尚不清楚种子捕食者造成了多少种子损失。在一项为期两年的研究中，将六种覆盖作物物种——作为单一物种或混合物种植——被播种到站立玉米中。我们评估了播种时的种子捕食、覆盖作物的农艺影响和季节结束时的杂草生物量，以及通过地甲虫（鞘翅目：Carabidae）的活动密度对保护的影响。覆盖作物种子容易受到种子捕食，主要由脊椎动物种子捕食者造成，种子损失因覆盖作物物种而异。覆盖作物生物量没有因覆盖作物多样性而异，杂草生物量不受覆盖作物存在或物种的影响。覆盖作物多样性对鲶鱼活动密度的影响是不一致的：在研究的 1 年，不同混合物中鲶鱼的含量较高，但在第二年仅通过植物覆盖而不是覆盖作物进行预测。将覆盖作物播种到玉米中对地甲虫有潜在的好处，尽管必须进一步探索混合物的价值。覆盖作物多样性对鲶鱼活动密度的影响是不一致的：在研究的 1 年，不同混合物中鲶鱼的含量较高，但在第二年仅通过植物覆盖而不是覆盖作物进行预测。将覆盖作物播种到玉米中对地甲虫有潜在的好处，尽管必须进一步探索混合物的价值。覆盖作物多样性对鲶鱼活动密度的影响是不一致的：在研究的 1 年，不同混合物中鲶鱼的含量较高，但在第二年仅通过植物覆盖而不是覆盖作物进行预测。将覆盖作物播种到玉米中对地甲虫有潜在的好处，尽管必须进一步探索混合物的价值。