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© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

There is a worldwide need to enhance soil health, particularly in agricultural areas. Groundcovers are widely recognized sustainable land management (SLM) practices that improve soil health and provide climate benefits by sequestering atmospheric carbon. A paired-plots study was carried out in woody crops (17 sites, olive groves and vineyards) in a semiarid area of central Spain to measure soil parameter changes induced by different management practices in the medium term. The selection across different locations aimed to determine whether the impact of groundcovers was substantial enough to produce significant changes in the studied soil parameters, even when accounting for variations in soil types. Each site consisted of neighboring plots: One was managed with conventional tillage (CT). The other was managed with an alternative soil management practice: (1) spontaneous groundcovers (GC) or (2) no soil management (NM). Vegetation and soil parameters were measured in spring 2021. Despite the low aboveground biomass in GC (77 g m−2), this treatment improved soil organic carbon stock (+4.4 Mg ha−1), infiltration rate (+50%), and aggregate stability (+35%) compared to CT, but higher compaction along the profile was detected. NM only resulted in a better infiltration rate, with high soil compaction. Our study provides supplementary information to long-term studies, which may include soil biological parameters as soil health indicators and yield response. Outcomes of these soil assessments lend support to the implementation of agricultural policies that promote GC as a SLM practice, in order to extend this technique to woody crops.

Details

Title
Groundcovers Improve Soil Properties in Woody Crops Under Semiarid Climate
Author
Sastre, Blanca 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Antón-Iruela, Omar 2 ; Moreno-Delafuente, Ana 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Navas, Mariela J 3 ; Marques, Maria Jose 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; González-Canales, Javier 5 ; Juan Pedro Martín-Sanz 1 ; Ramos, Rubén 1 ; García-Díaz, Andrés 1 ; Bienes, Ramón 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Madrid Institute for Rural, Agricultural and Food Research and Development (IMIDRA), Finca El Encín, Carretera A-2, km 38.2, Alcalá de Henares, 28805 Madrid, Spain; [email protected] (O.A.-I.); [email protected] (A.M.-D.); [email protected] (J.G.-C.); [email protected] (J.P.M.-S.); [email protected] (R.R.); [email protected] (A.G.-D.); [email protected] (R.B.) 
 Madrid Institute for Rural, Agricultural and Food Research and Development (IMIDRA), Finca El Encín, Carretera A-2, km 38.2, Alcalá de Henares, 28805 Madrid, Spain; [email protected] (O.A.-I.); [email protected] (A.M.-D.); [email protected] (J.G.-C.); [email protected] (J.P.M.-S.); [email protected] (R.R.); [email protected] (A.G.-D.); [email protected] (R.B.); GRUPOPTIMA, 28890 Madrid, Spain 
 Chemical Farmaceutic Depatment, Farmacy Faculty, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Pza. Ramón y Cajal S/N, 28040 Madrid, Spain; [email protected] 
 Geology and Geochemistry Department, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Calle Francisco Tomás y Valiente, 7, 28049 Madrid, Spain; [email protected] 
 Madrid Institute for Rural, Agricultural and Food Research and Development (IMIDRA), Finca El Encín, Carretera A-2, km 38.2, Alcalá de Henares, 28805 Madrid, Spain; [email protected] (O.A.-I.); [email protected] (A.M.-D.); [email protected] (J.G.-C.); [email protected] (J.P.M.-S.); [email protected] (R.R.); [email protected] (A.G.-D.); [email protected] (R.B.); Doctorate School, University of Alcalá (UAH), Alcalá de Henares, 28801 Madrid, Spain 
First page
2288
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20770472
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3149495612
Copyright
© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.