Groundcover Mulching in Mediterranean Vineyards Improves Soil Chemical, Physical and Biological Health Already in the Short Term
| Autor: | Daniele Antichi, Simone Marini, Christian Frasconi, Paolo Bàrberi, Simone Priori, Dylan Warren Raffa, Stefano Carlesi |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
cover crop
tillage green manure organic farming sustainable agriculture vite agricoltura sostenibile inerbimento sovescio colture di copertura gestione del suolo lavorazione del terreno inerbimento permanente inerbimento spontaneo 010501 environmental sciences 01 natural sciences Soil management Soil retrogression and degradation Cover crop 0105 earth and related environmental sciences 2. Zero hunger Soil health Conventional tillage Soil organic matter Agriculture 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences 15. Life on land Tillage Soil structure Agronomy 040103 agronomy & agriculture 0401 agriculture forestry and fisheries Environmental science Agronomy and Crop Science |
| Zdroj: | Agronomy, Vol 11, Iss 787, p 787 (2021) Agronomy Volume 11 Issue 4 |
| Popis: | Vineyards are among the land uses with the highest soil degradation rate in Mediterranean Europe, mainly due to intensive tillage management. Therefore, practices able to foster soil health are critical to promote sustainable wine production. We studied the following treatments in two organic farms in Chianti Classico (Italy): conventional tillage, spontaneous vegetation, pigeon bean (Vicia faba var. minor) incorporated in spring and a mixture of barley (Hordeum vulgare) and squarrosum clover (Trifolium squarrosum), both incorporated and left as mulch. An innovative approach, based on gamma-ray and apparent electrical conductivity, was used to account for the fine-scale soil variability that was included in the statistical model. Mulched groundcovers were associated with higher soil organic matter compared to tillage, already after two years. An increased N availability was found under all groundcovers compared with tillage. The effect of soil management practices on P2O5 strongly varied across farms and years, while it was not statistically significant on K availability. Spontaneous vegetation positively influenced the soil structure index, soil penetration resistance and soil biological health. The results show that mulched groundcovers can improve soil health already in the short term, thereby potentially increasing the sustainability of the wine sector. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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