Sustainable land management practices as providers of several ecosystem services under rainfed Mediterranean agroecosystems (original) (raw)
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Applied Soil Ecology, 2010
Abbreviations: CRP, conservation reserve program; CTBFN, conventional-till malt barley with 67 to 134 kg N ha −1 ; CTBON, conventional-till malt barley with 0 kg N ha −1 ; CTFON, conventional-till fallow with 0 kg N ha −1 ; DOY, day of the year; NTBFN, no-till malt barley with 67 to 134 kg N ha −1 ; NTBON, no-till malt barley with 0 kg N ha −1 ; NTCRP, no-till CRP planting containing alfalfa and grasses with 0 kg N ha −1 ; NTFON, no-till fallow with 0 kg N ha −1 ; NTPON, no-till pea with 0 kg N ha −1 ; and NTRON, no-till rye with 0 kg N ha −1 .
Carbon losses by tillage under semi-arid Mediterranean rainfed agriculture (SW Spain)
Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research, 2009
Conservation tillage has been promoted as a solution to counteract constraints caused by intensive agriculture. In this work the effects of two conservation tillage systems, reduced tillage (RT) and no-tillage (NT) were compared to the traditional tillage (TT) in a long-(15 years, RT) and short-term experiment (3 years, NT). Both experiments were carried out under semi-arid, rainfed agriculture of Mediterranean SW Spain. Tillage caused a sharp increase in soil CO 2 emissions immediately after tillage implementation, with a maximum value of 6.24 g CO 2 m -2 h -1 under long-term TT treatment.
Applied Soil Ecology, 2014
In a dryland Mediterranean agrosystem (Sicily, Italy) a comparative study was carried out among two crop systems (wheat/wheat and wheat/bean) after 19 years under three most used tillage managements (conventional, dual layer and no-tillage), in order to ascertain the effects of those experimental factors, single and combined, on various soil organic C pools (total and extractable organic C, microbial biomass C, basal respiration). Field CO 2 fluxes from soil, throughout a year, were also determined. Moreover, C input and output were assessed, as well as microbial and metabolic quotients. Tillage management more than cropping system affected the soil organic C stored in the first 15 cm of soil. After 19 years, no-tillage caused a 3.6 Mg ha −1 increase of C content in wheat/faba rotation while of 5.6 Mg ha −1 in wheat monoculture. The higher soil total organic C content in wheat monoculture was ascribed to a lower quality of residues supplied (higher both C/N ratio and acid detergent fibre (ADF) content). Moreover, wheat/bean rotation increased soil microbial biomass C, basal respiration and microbial quotient, thus suggesting that crop rotation more than tillage management was the driving factor in improving soil biochemical indicators.
Soil and Tillage Research, 2009
Click here to download Manuscript: PAPER.doc Click here to view linked References term trial. In general, only the stratification ratios of AC were higher in CT than in TT in both trials. The results of this study showed that AC content was the most sensible and reliable indicator for assessing the impact of different soil management on soil quality in the two experiments (short-and long-term). Conservation management in dryland farming systems improved the quality of soil under our conditions, especially at the surface layers, by enhancing its storage of organic matter and its biological properties, mainly in the long-term.
Mediterranean woody crops, such as olive and almond farming, and vineyards are usually cultivated in soils low in organic matter, with limited water availability and frequently on medium to steep slopes. Therefore, when conventionally cultivated, soils of these cropping systems are net sources of CO 2 (throughout soil erosion and organic carbon mineralization). A promising option to sequester carbon (C) in these cropping systems is the implementation of recommended management practices (RMPs), which include plant cover in the inter-row area, minimum or no tillage and off-and on-farm organic matter amendments. However, the effects of RMPs on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in these cropping systems are widely overlooked, despite the critical importance of estimating their contribution on CO 2 emissions for policy decisions in the agriculture sector in Mediterranean regions. We therefore conducted a meta-analysis to derive a C response ratio, soil C sequestration rate and soil C sequestration efficiency under RMPs, compared to conventional management of olive and almond orchards, and vineyards (144 data sets from 51 references). RMPs included organic amendments (OA), plant cover (CC) and a combination of the two (CMP). The highest soil C sequestration rate (5.3 t C ha À1 yr À1) was observed following the application OA in olive orchards (especially after olive mill pomace application), whereas CC management achieved the lowest C sequestration rates (1.1, 0.78 and 2.0 t C ha À1 yr À1 , for olive orchards, vineyards and almond orchards, respectively). Efficiency of soil C sequestration was greater than 100% after OA and CMP managements, indicating that: i) some of the organic C inputs were unaccounted for, and ii) a positive feedback effect of the application of these amendments on SOC retention (e.g. reduction of soil erosion) and on protective mechanisms of the SOC which reduce CO 2 emissions. Soil C sequestration rate tended to be highest during the first years after the change of the management and progressively decreased. Studies performed in Mediterranean sub-climates of low annual precipitation had lower values of soil C sequestration rate, likely due to a lower biomass production of the crop and other plant cover. Soil C sequestration rates in olive farming were much higher than that of vineyards, mainly due to the application of higher annual doses of organic amendments. The relatively high sequestration rate combined with the relative large spatial extent of these cropping system areas suggests that the adoption of RMPs is a sustainable and efficient measure to mitigate climate change.
CATENA, 2019
Mediterranean environments are especially susceptible to soil erosion and to inappropriate soil management, leading to accelerated soil loss. Sustainable Land Management (SLM) practices (such as reduced tillage, notillage, cover crops, etc.,) have the potential to reduce soil, organic carbon (OC), and nutrient losses by erosion. However, the effectivity of these practices is site-dependent and varies under different rainfall conditions. The objective of this paper was to evaluate the effects of SLM practicesin two rainfed systems (a wheat field and an almond orchard) representative of a large area of the driest Mediterranean regions-on runoff, soil erosion, particle size distribution, and OC and nutrient (N and P) contents in sediments. The influence of the rainfall characteristics on the effectiveness of the SLM practices was also evaluated. The SLM implemented were: reduced tillage (RT) in the wheat field and almond orchard and reduced tillage combined with green manure (RTG) in the almond orchard; these were compared to conventional tillage, the usual practice in the area. Open erosion plots were set up to monitor the effects of SLM on soil carbon and nutrients and on soil erosion after each rainfall event over six years (2010-2016). The results show that the SLM practices evaluated resulted in increased organic carbon (OC) and nutrients (N and P) contents in the soil, and reduced runoff, erosion, and mobilization of organic carbon and nutrients in sediments. Reductions in runoff of 30% and 65% and decreases in erosion of 65 and 85% were found in the wheat field and almond orchards, respectively. In addition, the total OC, N, and P losses in the wheat field were reduced by 56%, 45%, and 64%, respectively, while in the almond field the OC, N, and P losses were reduced by 90% under RT and by 85% under RTG. The beneficial effect of the SLM practices on soil erosion was observed within 18 months of their implementation and continued throughout the six years of the study. Furthermore, the effectiveness of tillage reduction with respect to erosion control and carbon and nutrients mobilization was highest during the most intense rainfall events, which are responsible for the highest erosion rates in Mediterranean areas. Our results support the key role of SLM practices under semiarid conditions as useful tools for climate change mitigation and adaptation, given the expected increase in high-intensity rainfall events in semiarid areas.
Agriculture
Intensive agriculture practices often results in decomposition of organic matter, thus causing soil CO2 emissions. Agro-ecological service crop could be profitably cultivated to improve soil characteristics and reduce CO2 emissions under Mediterranean environment. Two-year field trials were conducted in central Italy. The treatments were three agro-ecological service crops (hairy vetch, oat, and oilseed rape) and a no-service cover. Plant development, soil characteristics, and CO2 emissions were measured. Oat and oilseed rape showed a rapid growth, while hairy vetch started to grow rapidly only after the cold period. Soil CO2 emissions trend was similar among the agro-ecological service crops and tended to decrease during the cold period, then gradually increased until April when warm temperatures were observed. The high soil CO2 emissions and respiration index observed in hairy vetch probably stimulated mineral nutrients, especially nitrogen, to become more available in the soil co...
Abstract Keywords: Rain-fed almond orchard Sustainable land management Semiarid agroecosystems Soil organic carbon fractionation Carbon sequestration Soil aggregation A B S T R A C T Semiarid Mediterranean agroecosystems need the implementation of sustainable land management (SLM) practices in order to maintain acceptable levels of soil organic matter (SOM). The application of SLM practices helps to maintain soil structure and physical-chemical protection of soil organic carbon (SOC), hence improving soil carbon sequestration and mitigating CO 2 emissions to the atmosphere. In an organic, rain-fed almond (Prunus dulcis Mill., var. Ferragnes) orchard under reduced tillage (RT), as the habitual management practice during the 14 years immediately preceding the experiment, we studied the effect of two agricultural management practices on soil aggregate distribution and SOC stabilization after four years of implementation. The implemented practices were (1) reduced tillage with a mix of Vicia sativa L. and Avena sativa L. as green manure (RTG) and (2) no-tillage (NT). Four aggregate size classes were differentiated by wet sieving (large and small macroaggregates, microaggregates, and the silt plus clay fraction), and the microaggregates occluded within small macroaggregates (SMm) were isolated. In addition, three organic C fractions were separated within the small macroaggregates and micro-aggregates, using a density fractionation method: free light fraction (free LF-C), intra-aggregate particulate OM (iPOM-C), and organic C associated with the mineral fraction (mineral-C). The results show that the combination of reduced tillage plus green manure (RTG) was the most-efficient SLM practice for SOC sequestration. The total SOC increased by about 14% in the surface layer (0–5 cm depth) when compared to RT. Furthermore, green manure counteracted the effect of tillage on soil aggregate rupture. The plant residue inputs from green manure and their incorporation into the soil by reduced tillage promoted the formation of new aggregates and activated the subsequent physical-chemical protection of OC. The latter mechanism occurred mainly in the fine iPOM-C occluded within microaggregates and mineral-C occluded within small macroaggregates fractions, which together contributed to an increase of up to 30% in the OC concentration in the bulk soil. No-tillage favored the OC accumulation in the mineral-C within the small macroaggregates and in the fine iPOM-C occluded within microaggregates in the surface layer, and in the mineral-C occluded within the small macroaggregates and microaggregates at 5–15 cm depth, but four years of cessation of tillage were not enough to significantly increase the total OC in the bulk soil.
European Journal of Agronomy, 2021
The long-term effects of conservation agriculture on soil physical and chemical properties and their relationship with crop yields are still relatively poorly understood. In addition, the effects of those practices ranged widely depending on climatic and edaphic conditions and so they cannot be generalized for all agro-ecological regions and crop types. This study evaluates the effects of three conservation agriculture practices-reduced tillage (RT), reduced tillage plus incorporation of green manure (RTG), and no-tillage (NT)-in the soil quality on almond orchards under semiarid conditions and the soil factors explaining crop yield under these management practices. The soil physical indicators used were bulk density, resistance to penetration, total porosity, air capacity, relative field capacity, available water content, infiltration rate and field plant-available water content. The chemical parameters evaluated were soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, nitrate, and available phosphorus. Changes in the soil physical properties with the incorporation of green manure and with no-tillage, relative to RT were, mainly detected in the 5-15 cm soil layer, where improvements in soil water availability were observed. In addition, there 2 2 was a positive effect of both green manure and no-tillage on the infiltration rate relative to RT. The shift from RT to RTG led to an improvement in total soil organic carbon and nitrogen, resulting in a positive effect on crop yield after six years of implementation. Notillage led to a decline of about 70% in crop yield with respect to the tillage treatments, despite the improvement in the soil available water content from the first year of its adoption. However, a strong decrease in the concentrations of available nitrogen was the factor mainly responsible for the crop yield reductions under NT. 3 3 Conservation agriculture improves the water availability to crops (Fernández-Ugalde, 2009; Mutonga et al., 2019), the use efficiency of inputs, in particular nitrogen (N) (Kumar et al., 2014; Carranca et al., 2018), physical and chemical soil properties, such as the soil organic carbon, and the soil biological status (Melero et al., 2009; Bottinelli et al., 2010), thus enhancing the edaphic environment. In addition, these practices might increase the water availability to crops enhancing N uptake, with positive effects on productivity (Renwick et al. 2019). The effects of conservation agriculture on several physical and chemical indicators of soil quality (bulk density, resistance to penetration, soil organic carbon, etc.) and, consequently, on yields have been reported (Armenise et
Linking Soil Organic Carbon Stocks to Land-use Types in a Mediterranean Agroforestry Landscape
Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, 2014
In agroforestry landscapes, land use, and the associated management practices exert strong impacts upon soil organic carbon stocks. Data on the soil organic carbon were collected for different land-use types within a small watershed, El Salado, located in Lanjarón (SE Spain). Eight land-use types namely: farmland planted in olive, almond, and cereals; forest with Pinus halepensis Mill. and Pinus sylvestris L. stands; shrubland; grassland; as well as abandoned farmland were taken into consideration. Of the land-use types investigated, forest, shrubland, as well as grassland exhibited the highest average soil organic C stocks (100-63 Mg ha-1) in contrast with the abandoned farmland (28 Mg ha-1), with farmland representing a go-between situation (51-49 Mg ha-1). The environmental factors precipitation, temperature, and elevation significantly influenced (P< 0.01) the soil organic C stock, with the contents tending to be higher in mountain soils with respective intermediate values of 600-800 mm, 10-15ºC, and 1,000-1,500 m asl. Thus, the present approach offers a comparison of C-sequestration patterns as related to the land-use types in a Mediterranean agroforestry landscape, where the main challenge is to integrate the forest trees and the crops within their harmonious interacting combinations.