Abstract
Viticulture, as a large part of the agriculture sector of the South Moravian Region, represents significant erosion-prone land use in which soils face various agronomic issues, such as poor organic carbon levels, erosion, and fertility loss. Service crops providing a so-called ecosystem service can reduce erosion and runoff, regulate pests and weeds and increase soil organic matter and fertility. However, these crops may generate some disservices, such as water and nutrient competition; and thus, it is important for winegrowers to find applicable options for service crops depending on local soil, climate conditions, and the expected service. Inter-row management in the South Moravian Region varies from bare soils to grass cover to different types of cover with herbaceous (flowering) species. A total of 113 vineyard sites were evaluated during the years 2016 and 2017. This study presents the actual state of inter-row management in vineyards and comparison within six wine-growing regions. A two-year evaluation shows significant differences in prevalent greening management between regions. Bare soil in vineyards, the most erosion-prone vineyard floor management, appear from 10% (e.g., Bzenec, Valtice) to 19% (e.g., Mikulov, V. Bílovice) of vineyard area within evaluated regions. Bare soil management is mostly used in new plantations to reduce water and nutrient competition; however, the erosion and the runoff rates are generally higher on this variant compared to other types of cover crop management, especially on slopes. Although, alternate greening is the most used type occurring from 50% to 74% of vineyards area in five of the six selected regions, the type of inter-row vegetation differs considerably. While in Bzenec and Mikulov there is a higher appearance of herbaceous cover with native species in later succession stages, in Velké Bílovice and Valtice grass cover and commercial plant mixtures are more frequent. Knowledge current stage can be useful for planning new plantation or anti-erosion measures.
Highlights
The conservation of biodiversity is crucial to maintaining or increasing the sustainability and stability of farming systems
Bare soil management is mostly used in new plantations to reduce water and nutrient competition; the erosion and the runoff rates are generally higher on this variant compared to other types of cover crop management, especially on slopes
While in Bzenec and Mikulov there is a higher appearance of herbaceous cover with native species in later succession stages, in Velké Bílovice and Valtice grass cover and commercial plant mixtures are more frequent
Summary
The conservation of biodiversity is crucial to maintaining or increasing the sustainability and stability of farming systems. Vineyards in many parts of the world can be regarded as monocultures with little remaining native vegetation [1]. One of the practices to increase and support biodiversity can be intercropping. Intercrops (grass and herbaceous cover in the inter-rows) are being introduced for potential positive impacts on grapevines and their environment [2]. Various effects of cover crops have been evaluated by many authors in France [3,4], Spain [5,6], Italy [7] Germany [8], Portugal [9] or California [10].
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