Assessment of agri-spillways as a soil erosion protection measure in Mediterranean sloping vineyards

Suitable vineyard soils enhance soil stability and biodiversity which in turn protects roots against erosion and nutrient losses. There is a lack of information related to inexpensive and suitable methods and tools to protect the soil in Mediterranean sloping vineyards(>25° of slope inclination). In the vineyards of the Montes de Málaga(southern Spain), a sustainable land management practice that controls soil erosion is actually achieved by tilling rills in the down-slope direction to canalize water and sediments. Because of their design and use, we call them agri-spillways. In this research, we assessed two agri-spillways(between 10 m and 15 m length, and slopes between 25.8° and 35°) by performing runoff experiments under extreme conditions(a motor driven pump that discharged water flows up to 1.33 l s^(-1) for 12 to 15 minutes: ≈1000 l). The final results showed: i) a great capacity by these rills to canalize large amounts of water and sediments; and, ii) higher water flow speeds(between 0.16 m s-1 and 0.28 m s^(-1)) and sediment concentrationrates(up to 1538.6 g l^(-1)) than typically found in other Mediterranean areas and land uses(such as badlands, rangelands or extensive crops of olives and almonds). The speed of water flow and the sediment concentration were much higher in the shorter and steeper rill. We concluded that agri-spillways, given correct planning and maintenance, can be a potential solution as an inexpensive method to protect the soil in sloping Mediterranean vineyards.

Impacts of oak deforestation and rainfed cultivation on soil redistribution processes across hillslopes using ^(137)Cs techniques

Background:As one of the main components of land-use change,deforestation is considered the greatest threat to global environmental diversity with possible irreversible environmental consequences.Specifically,one example could be the impacts of land-use changes from oak forests into agricultural ecosystems,which may have detrimental impacts on soil mobilization across hillslopes.However,to date,scarce studies are assessing these impacts at different slope positions and soil depths,shedding light on key geomorphological processes.Methods:In this research,the Caesium-137(^(137)Cs)technique was applied to evaluate soil redistribution and soil erosion rates due to the effects of these above-mentioned land-use changes.To achieve this goal,we select a representative area in the Lordegan district,central Iran.^(137)Cs depth distribution profiles were established in four different hillslope positions after converting natural oak forests to rainfed farming.In each hillslope,soil samples from three depths(0–10,10–20,and 20–50 cm)and in four different slope positions(summit,shoulder,backslope,and footslope)were taken in three transects of about 20m away from each other.The activity of ^(137)Cs was determined in all the soil samples(72 soil samples)by a gamma spectrometer.In addition,some physicochemical properties and the magnetic susceptibility(MS)of soil samples were measured.Results:Erosion rates reached 51.1 t·ha^(−1)·yr^(−1) in rainfed farming,whereas in the natural forest,the erosion rate was 9.3 t·ha^(−1)·yr^(−1).Magnetic susceptibility was considerably lower in the cultivated land(χhf=43.5×10^(−8)m^(3)·kg^(−1))than in the natural forest(χhf=55.1×10^(−8)m^(3)·kg^(−1)).The lower soil erosion rate in the natural forest land indicated significantly higher MS in all landform positions except at the summit one,compared to that in the rainfed farming land.The shoulder and summit positions were the most erodible hillslope positions in the natural forest and rainfed farming,respectively.Conclusions:We concluded that land-use change and hillslope positions played a key role in eroding the surface soils in this area.Moreover,land management can influence soil erosion intensity and may both mitigate and amplify soil loss.

Soil Physical Quality of Citrus Orchards Under Tillage, Herbicide, and Organic Managements

Soil capacity to support life and to produce economic goods and services is strongly linked to the maintenance of good soil physical quality(SPQ). In this study, the SPQ of citrus orchards was assessed under three different soil managements, namely no-tillage using herbicides, tillage under chemical farming, and no-tillage under organic farming. Commonly used indicators, such as soil bulk density,organic carbon content, and structural stability index, were considered in conjunction with capacitive indicators estimated by the Beerkan estimation of soil transfer parameter(BEST) method. The measurements taken at the L'Alcoleja Experimental Station in Spain yielded optimal values for soil bulk density and organic carbon content in 100% and 70% of cases for organic farming. The values of structural stability index indicated that the soil was stable in 90% of cases. Differences between the soil management practices were particularly clear in terms of plant-available water capacity and saturated hydraulic conductivity. Under organic farming, the soil had the greatest ability to store and provide water to plant roots, and to quickly drain excess water and facilitate root proliferation.Management practices adopted under organic farming(such as vegetation cover between the trees, chipping after pruning, and spreading the chips on the soil surface) improved the SPQ. Conversely, the conventional management strategies unequivocally led to soil degradation owing to the loss of organic matter, soil compaction, and reduced structural stability. The results in this study show that organic farming has a clear positive impact on the SPQ, suggesting that tillage and herbicide treatments should be avoided.

Contrasted Impact of Land Abandonment on Soil Erosion in Mediterranean Agriculture Fields

Abandonment of agricultural land results in on-and off-site consequences for the ecosystem. In this study, 105 rainfall simulations were carried out in agriculture lands of the Mediterranean belt in Spain(vineyards in Málaga, almond orchards in Murcia, and orange and olive orchards in Valencia) and in paired abandoned lands to assess the impact of land abandonment on soil and water losses. After abandonment, soil detachment decreased drastically in the olive and orange orchards, while vineyards did not show any difference and almond orchards registered higher erosion rates after the abandonment. Terraced orchards of oranges and olives recovered a dense vegetation cover after the abandonment, while the sloping terrain of almond orchards and vineyards enhanced the development of crusts and rills and a negligible vegetation cover resulted in high erosion rates. The contrasted responses to land abandonment in Mediterranean agricultural lands suggest that land abandonment should be programmed and managed with soil erosion control strategies for some years to avoid land degradation.