No-till agriculture can cool fields up to 2 degrees on the hottest days

Nature published an article in June showing that using no-till agriculture cooled fields in Europe by up to two degrees C on the hottest days of summer.  The cooling was caused by increased reflection off of the fields from the cover, which reflected more sunlight than the bare dark earth and kept the energy balance low.  This cooling more than counteracted the loss of cooling from decreased evaporation and helped conserve soil moisture. This effect is most pronounced on the hottest 1% of days and is smaller on days closer to the average values.  To read the story, click here.