Modern agriculture faces growing threats from soil degradation, nutrient loss, and declining biological activity, primarily driven by intensive tillage, monoculture, and the extensive use of agrochemicals. Cover crops hold promises for restoring soil health and resilience. However, their potential is often underutilized due to the limited understanding of cover crop–soil interactions. This review synthesizes the current knowledge on the role of cover crop root systems in shaping soil biological, chemical, and physical functions. The review methodology followed an ‘integrative’ approach to overview the knowledge base, critically review, reconceptualize, and expand on the theoretical foundation of the broad and interdisciplinary topic of cover crop root functions in agroecosystems. Through structural root traits and exudates, cover crops can influence microbial communities, regulate organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling, improve soil aggregation and porosity, and promote carbon sequestration. However, the extent of these benefits depends strongly on cropping system design, tillage intensity, species selection, and management practices such as sowing date, seeding rate, and harvest timing. Despite their importance, root traits remain underutilized in cover crop breeding due to limited phenotyping capabilities and insufficient germplasm resources. Advances in biosensors, in situ imaging, and genomic techniques, now provide opportunities to identify and select root traits that enhance soil function. We emphasize the importance of root-focused breeding strategies and context-specific management approaches to maximize the agricultural and ecological benefits of cover crops and to advance progress toward more sustainable and regenerative agricultural systems. • Cover crop roots shape soil biological, chemical, and physical functions. • Root traits remain underused in cover crop breeding and management. • Advances in phenotyping tools enable root-focused breeding strategies. • Context-specific management maximizes cover crop soil and ecosystem benefits. • Root trait diversity is key to resilient, regenerative agroecosystems.
Madrid et al. (Thu,) studied this question.