Tillage-induced management impact on soil properties and initial soil erosion in degraded calcareous soils in Mediterranean fig orchard

Igor Bogunovic,Ivan Dugan,Leon Josip Telak,Carla S S Ferreira,Paulo Pereira

doi:10.5194/egusphere-egu21-1309

Abstract

&lt;p&gt;High majority of soil erosion studies focus on cereal croplands, vineyards, olive, avocado, citrus, almond, persimmon, apple, and apricot orchards. To date, there is a lack of information about the possible impacts of tillage management on soil properties and hydrological response in fig orchards. Understanding this will be crucial to design efficient soil conservation practices and degradation control. Therefore, the aim of this research was to study the initial soil erosion in fig plantations and temporal evolution of initial soil erosion after the tillage intervention on undeveloped, Calcic Fluvisol in Dalmatia, Croatia. The study was conducted by collecting undisturbed soil samples, followed by rainfall simulations (58 mm h&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;, during 30 min, over 0.785 m&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; plots) in eight repetitions per measurement 2 days, 1 month, and 3 months after the intensive tillage. The results showed a clear difference among soil properties trough time. Seasonal effect significantly modifies soil properties and hydrological response. Soil bulk density and mean weight diameter increase (p &lt; 0.05), while water holding capacity, water stable aggregates, soil organic content, and available phosphorus decrease (p &lt; 0.05) by time after tillage&lt;sub&gt;. &lt;/sub&gt;The highest runoff was measured 1 month (100.5 m&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt; ha&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;), followed by 3 months (82 m&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt; ha&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;), and 0 months (48.3 m&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt; ha&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;) after tillage. Sediment losses were highest at 3 months (3488.9 kg ha&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;), followed by 3.5 times lesser losses at 1 month (990.6 kg ha&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;), and 8.2 times lower right after the tillage (426.1 kg ha&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;). Temporal variations of soil erodibility in this study were under the influence of soil natural consolidation and precipitation. Fig orchards on young, undeveloped soils are highly erodible forms of land use and conservation practices need to be deploy in order to mitigate land degradation.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Keywords:&lt;/strong&gt; soil physical properties, runoff, permanent plantation, short-term changes, undeveloped soil&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Acknowledgments&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This work was supported by Croatian Science Foundation through the project &quot;Soil erosion and degradation in Croatia&quot; (UIP-2017-05-7834) (SEDCRO).&lt;/p&gt;

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