Unveiling the Opportunities of Unexplored Use of Cover Crop in Mediterranean Agriculture through Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The study is focussed on the analysis of the benefits of using cover crops in Mediterranean agriculture. For the literature review a PICO model was applied. For the literature selection the authors used PRISMA technique.

The study was well design and conducted.

l. 11 – It should be “contribute to improving”

l. 12 – delete “be”

l. 19 – “encompassed” – why past tense?

l. 26 – There should be “seeking to achieve agricultural …”

 

1. What is the main question addressed by the research?
As stated in the paper's title: Unveiling the opportunities of unexplored use of cover crop in Mediterranean agriculture through systematic review and meta-analysis.

2. What parts do you consider original or relevant for the field? What specific gap in the field does the paper address?

Original is the analysis of the selected articles. The paper addressess the gaps named in the paper's title.

3. What does it add to the subject area compared with other published material?

A meta-analysis and a systemic review - as in the title.

4. What specific improvements should the authors consider regarding the methodology? What further controls should be considered?

There are no improvements needed. The authors used a correct methodology and they fully described it in the paper.

5. Please describe how the conclusions are or are not consistent with the evidence and arguments presented. Please also indicate if all main questions posed were addressed and by which specific experiments.

Everything is correct and conclusions are based on the results.

6. Are the references appropriate?

Absolutely appropriate!

7. Please include any additional comments on the tables and figures and quality of the data.

The paper presents a very valuable review of the studies on cover crops in the study area. It can serve as a useful reference for further studies.

Author Response

Please, consider the enclosed pdf file. Thank you for your remarks.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The author has made a detailed study on cover crops, which has strong practical significance for the sustainable development of agriculture. However, there is still some room for improvement in the paper, and the following suggestions are for reference only.

1. The literature cited in the article is relatively old, so it is recommended that the author add more latest authoritative literature.

2. The introduction of the paper fails to lead to the research topic well. The author needs to further clarify why this issue is studied and what is its value?

3. The author chose to search literature from January 2000 to May 2024. How this time period was determined, please explain in detail.

4. The author needs to explain in detail how 35 articles were screened out from 874 articles. Where is its rationality and scientificity, and how to guarantee its representativeness of 35 documents.

5. In the conclusion part, the author needs to conduct more relevant discussions to illustrate the potential value and applicability of this research.

Author Response

Please, consider the enclosed pdf file. Thank you for your remarks.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Please see attachment.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Specialization and use of terminology: This paper uses technical terms such as "cover crops", "Mediterranean agriculture", "systematic review" and "meta-analysis" to demonstrate the author's expertise in the field.
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Grammatical accuracy: The use of grammar in the text appears to be accurate, with no obvious grammatical errors.
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Spelling correctness: The spelling in the text appears to be correct and no typos have been found.
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Sentence structure: A variety of sentence structures, including simple sentences, compound sentences, and complex sentences, help to communicate complex concepts clearly.
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Logical coherence: The content of the article is organized logically and the sections are well connected, so that readers can smoothly understand the purpose, methods, results and conclusions of the research.
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Clarity: Overall, the essay is clear and purposeful so that the reader can easily understand the author's ideas.
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Consistency: Articles are consistent in their use of tense and voice, which helps to maintain professionalism and readability.

Author Response

Please, consider the enclosed pdf file. Thank you for your remarks.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This paper has been revised in detail according to the review manuscript, and I think it can be accepted.