Soil Productivity Degradation in a Long-Term Eroded Olive Orchard under Semiarid Mediterranean Conditions

Olive groves are one of the most important agro-systems in the Mediterranean basin, and the Andalusia region produces the highest quantity of olive oil in Europe. The aim of this work was to evaluate the long-term (15 years) influence of two management practices in olive orchards-conventional tillage (CT) and no tillage with bare soil and herbicide application (NT + H)-on soil physical properties, infiltration capacity, erosion rates, and soil productivity. In addition, the short-term (2 years) influence of no tillage with cover crop management (NT-CC) on these parameters was also assessed. In the study area, CT and NT + H management practices showed unsustainable erosion values, 9.82 and 13.88 Mg ha(-1) year(-1), respectively, while NT-CC inclusion decreased the erosion rates (2.06 Mg ha(-1) year(-1)). The implementation of NT-CC not only reduced erosion rates but also caused a change in the trend of soil productivity loss observed under CT and NT + H. In this sense, NT-CC showed a positive influence on soil quality. However, tillage removal led to a significant reduction in the infiltration capacity of soils under NT + H and NT-CC, which will be a serious handicap for water storage in an environment with continuous processes of water deficit.

Automated summary

The study found that conventional tillage and no tillage with herbicide application practices showed unsustainable erosion values, while no tillage with cover crop management decreased erosion rates. No tillage with cover crop not only reduced erosion rates but also changed the trend of soil productivity loss observed under conventional tillage and no tillage with herbicide application. Therefore, no tillage with cover crop had a positive influence on soil quality.