Abstract
The combined impact of soil tillage intensification and expansion of olive farming is resulting in soil degradation and biodiversity decline. We hypothesized that, instead of tilling, mowing to control the natural vegetation in spring can increase biodiversity and improve soil quality. We compared the effects of natural vegetation mowing (NVM) with those of tillage (NVT) on plant community composition and cover, soil water content and resistance to penetration, and olive yield over an 8-year period, in a Mediterranean rainfed olive orchard. NVM had an average of 28 more species and showed a strong positive correlation with Poaceae and Fabaceae, and also with geophytes and hemicryptophytes. In contrast, NVT was negatively correlated with species richness and diversity, with perennial life forms, and positively correlated with Convolvulaceae. Proportions of grass and straw cover in spring were higher in NVM from the beginning of the study (average difference was about 20%). In autumn, grass cover became higher in NVM than in NVT from year five (13% more) and straw cover from year two (30% more). Olive production did not differ between treatments in any of the years. Soil water was higher in NVM, at both soil depths, particularly in mid-summer and after the first autumn rains (1 to 2%). Soil resistance to penetration was 1 Mpa higher in NVM than in NVT. As compared to conventional tillage, natural vegetation cover mowed in spring seems to be an effective management practice to improve the overall rainfed olive orchard biodiversity and soil quality, without affecting production.
Highlights
Olive (Olea europaea L.) is one of the main Mediterranean crops, playing an important role in the socio-economic life of the region since ancient times (Fernández-Zamudio & De Miguel, 2006)
We compared the effects of natural vegetation mowing (NVM) with those of tillage (NVT) on plant community composition and cover, soil water content and resistance to penetration, and olive yield over an 8-year period, in a Mediterranean rainfed olive orchard
The families Poaceae, Asteraceae, and Fabaceae, which are among the richest families of the Mediterranean flora and the most common in olive orchards (e.g., Solomou & Sfougaris, 2011), were the predominant families in both mowing and tillage management systems
Summary
Olive (Olea europaea L.) is one of the main Mediterranean crops, playing an important role in the socio-economic life of the region since ancient times (Fernández-Zamudio & De Miguel, 2006). Profit maximization in the short-run dictates too often the management system choice, like the intensive and super-intensive production, where competition between trees and weeds for water uptake is reduced through intensive tillage (Francia-Martínez et al, 2006; Metzidakis et al, 2008) These land-use practices worsen soil degradation and water scarcity, the most limiting factor for crop production in the Mediterranean region (Zuazo et al, 2009; Ramos et al, 2010). Instead of tilling, mowing to control the natural vegetation of olive orchard in spring can increase biodiversity and improve soil quality, without negative effects in production In this context, we compared the effects of tillage with those of mowing on plant diversity and cover, soil water content and resistance to penetration, and olive production, over an 8-year period, in a Mediterranean rainfed olive orchard
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