The combination of crop diversification and no tillage enhances key soil quality parameters related to soil functioning without compromising crop yields in a low-input rainfed almo...

• Autores: Almagro, María; Díaz Pereira, Elvira; Boix Fayos, Carolina; Zornoza, Raúl; Sánchez Navarro, Virginia; Re, Paula; Fernández, Cristina; Martínez, María Jimena
• Año de publicación: 2023
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION; INTER-CROPPING; LAND EQUIVALENT RATIO; LOW-INPUT WOODY CROPS; SEMIARID CONDITIONS; SOIL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES; SOIL MANAGEMENT; WINTER THYME
• Institución: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

Soils provide key ecosystem services and are crucial to combat climate change. Agriculture provides important ecosystem services but also causes negative environmental effects depending on agricultural management. In this regard, crop diversification is a promising sustainable land management strategy to combat soil erosion and degradation, mitigate climate change and ensure food security. Here, we assess the combined short-term effects of crop diversification and no tillage on several key soil physico-chemical parameters related to soil functioning as well as on crop yields in a rainfed almond (Prunus dulcis Mill.) orchard under semiarid Mediterranean conditions. Almond trees were inter-cropped with Capparis spinosa L. (caper) or Thymus hyemalis Lange (winter thyme) and compared with the almond monocrop system. The experimental design consisted of three plots in a randomized-block design, with three replicates for each crop management treatment (almond monocrop, almond inter-cropped with caper, and almond inter-cropped with winter thyme). Along with crop yields, the combined effects of crop diversification and no tillage on a range of soil quality and health indicators including soil physical (bulk density, aggregate stability, water retention and availability) and chemical (total and particulate organic carbon and nitrogen, ammonium and nitrate content, available macro- and micro-nutrients) properties were monitored in the topsoil and subsoil (at 0–10 and 10–30 cm depth, respectively) one and three years from establishment. Results: from this study indicate that soil water retention capacity and water availability for plants were enhanced in both crop diversification systems after three years from their implementation at 0–30 cm depth. Likewise, improvements in particulate organic carbon and available N were observed in the subsoil of both crop diversifications. Crop diversification did not significantly affect the main crop yields, highlighting that crop diversification can be a promising sustainable management practice for improving soil health without compromising food security under semiarid Mediterranean conditions. Indeed, land equivalent ratios (LER) of almond trees inter-cropped with winter thyme were higher than those of their respective monocrop systems for two consecutive years, indicating that inter-cropping with aromatics can improve the productivity of rainfed woody monocrop systems under semiarid conditions. Our results emphasize the importance of selecting an appropriate secondary crop that ensures a permanent soil cover while contributes to enhance the agroecosystem productivity from the first year of establishment onwards to off-set plausible lower yields from the main crop. In this regard, preliminary assessments on soil condition and crop nutrient requirements are encouraged before designing and implementing a crop diversification in these low-input cropping systems. Likewise, long-term studies are needed to provide evidence on the stability of the production of diversified crop management, particularly in these low-input cropping systems under harsh environmental conditions.
Fil: Almagro, María. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura; España
Fil: Díaz Pereira, Elvira. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura; España
Fil: Boix Fayos, Carolina. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura; España
Fil: Zornoza, Raúl. Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena; España
Fil: Sánchez Navarro, Virginia. Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena; España
Fil: Re, Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires Norte. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Delta del Paraná; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina
Fil: Fernández, Cristina. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura; España
Fil: Martínez, María Jimena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura; España