Effects of soil management techniques on soil water erosion in apricot orchards

Saskia Keesstra; Paulo Pereira; Agata Novara; Eric C Brevik; Cesar Azorin-Molina; Luis Parras-Alcántara; Antonio Jordán; Artemi Cerdà

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.182

Effects of soil management techniques on soil water erosion in apricot orchards

Sci Total Environ. 2016 May 1:551-552:357-66. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.182. Epub 2016 Feb 13.

Authors

Saskia Keesstra¹, Paulo Pereira², Agata Novara³, Eric C Brevik⁴, Cesar Azorin-Molina⁵, Luis Parras-Alcántara⁶, Antonio Jordán⁷, Artemi Cerdà⁸

Affiliations

¹ Soil Physics and Land Management Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 4, 6708PB Wageningen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: saskia.keesstra@wur.nl.
² Environment Management Laboratory, Mykolas Romeris University, Ateities g. 20, LT-08303, Vilnius, Lithuania; Department of Forestry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48825, USA. Electronic address: paulo@mruni.eu.
³ Dipartimento dei Sistemi Agro-ambientali, University of Palermo, viale delle scienze, Italy. Electronic address: agatanovara@unipa.it.
⁴ Department of Natural Sciences, Dickinson State University, Dickinson, ND, USA. Electronic address: eric.brevik@dickinsonstate.edu.
⁵ Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IPE-CSIC), Departamento de Procesos Geoambientales y Cambio Global, Zaragoza, Spain. Electronic address: cazorin@ipe.csic.es.
⁶ Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, Faculty of Science, Agrifood Campus of International Excellence - ceiA3, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain. Electronic address: qe1paall@uco.es.
⁷ MED_Soil Research Group, Dep. of Crystallography, Mineralogy and Agricultural Chemistry, University of Seville, Spain. Electronic address: ajordan@us.es.
⁸ Soil Erosion and Degradation Research Group, Department of Geography, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: artemio.cerda@uv.es.

PMID: 26881727
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.182

Abstract

Soil erosion is extreme in Mediterranean orchards due to management impact, high rainfall intensities, steep slopes and erodible parent material. Vall d'Albaida is a traditional fruit production area which, due to the Mediterranean climate and marly soils, produces sweet fruits. However, these highly productive soils are left bare under the prevailing land management and marly soils are vulnerable to soil water erosion when left bare. In this paper we study the impact of different agricultural land management strategies on soil properties (bulk density, soil organic matter, soil moisture), soil water erosion and runoff, by means of simulated rainfall experiments and soil analyses. Three representative land managements (tillage/herbicide/covered with vegetation) were selected, where 20 paired plots (60 plots) were established to determine soil losses and runoff. The simulated rainfall was carried out at 55mmh(-1) in the summer of 2013 (<8% soil moisture) for one hour on 0.25m(2) circular plots. The results showed that vegetation cover, soil moisture and organic matter were significantly higher in covered plots than in tilled and herbicide treated plots. However, runoff coefficient, total runoff, sediment yield and soil erosion were significantly higher in herbicide treated plots compared to the others. Runoff sediment concentration was significantly higher in tilled plots. The lowest values were identified in covered plots. Overall, tillage, but especially herbicide treatment, decreased vegetation cover, soil moisture, soil organic matter, and increased bulk density, runoff coefficient, total runoff, sediment yield and soil erosion. Soil erosion was extremely high in herbicide plots with 0.91Mgha(-1)h(-1) of soil lost; in the tilled fields erosion rates were lower with 0.51Mgha(-1)h(-1). Covered soil showed an erosion rate of 0.02Mgha(-1)h(-1). These results showed that agricultural management influenced water and sediment dynamics and that tillage and herbicide treatment should be avoided.

Keywords: Agriculture land management; Hydrology; Mediterranean; Rainfall simulation; Soil water erosion.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't