Nitrate-nitrogen (NO(3)-N) loading to surface water bodies from subsurface drainage is an environmental concern in the midwestern United States. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of various land covers on NO(3)-N loss through subsurface drainage. Land-cover treatments included (i) conventional corn (Zea mays L.) (C) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] (S); (ii) winter rye (Secale cereale L.) cover crop before corn (rC) and before soybean (rS); (iii) kura clover (Trifolium ambiguum M. Bieb.) as a living mulch for corn (kC); and (iv) perennial forage of orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) mixed with clovers (PF). In spring, total N uptake by aboveground biomass of rye in rC, rye in rS, kura clover in kC, and grasses in PF were 14.2, 31.8, 87.0, and 46.3 kg N ha(-1), respectively. Effect of land covers on subsurface drainage was not significant. The NO(3)-N loss was significantly lower for kC and PF than C and S treatments (p
