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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Davis, California » Crops Pathology and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #337799
Title: Effects of long-term soil management on the mutual interaction among soil organic matter, microbial activity and aggregates in vineyard

Author
item BELMONTE, SERGIO - University Of Turin
item Stahel, Ruby
item BONIFACIO, ELEONORA - University Of Turin
item CELI, LUISELLA - University Of Turin
item NOVELLO, VITTORINO - University Of Turin
item ZANINI, ERMANNO - University Of Turin
item Steenwerth, Kerri

Submitted to: Pedosphere
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/28/2017
Publication Date: 5/7/2018
Citation: Belmonte, S.A., Stahel, R.J., Bonifacio, E., Celi, L., Novello, V., Zanini, E., Steenwerth, K.L. 2018. Effects of long-term soil management on the mutual interaction among soil organic matter, microbial activity and aggregates in vineyard. Pedosphere. 28(2):288-298. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1002-0160(18)60015-3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1002-0160(18)60015-3

Interpretive Summary: Vineyard soils are often sensitive to soil organic matter (SOM) loss and topsoil degradation. Management practices to enhance soil conservation principally focus on increasing carbon (C) inputs whereas mitigating impacts of disturbance through reduced tillage has been considered less commonly. Also, information is lacking on the effects of soil management practices adopted in the under-vine zone on soil conservation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long term effects (20 years) of interrow with sown cover crop and no-tillage (S+NT), interrow with sown cover crop + tillage (S+T) and under vine area with no vegetation + tillage (UV) on soil organic matter, microbial activity, aggregate stability and on their mutual interactions. Vegetation biomass, microbial biomass and activity, organic C and nitrogen (N) pools, as well as the SOM size fractionation and aggregate stability were analyzed. Soil characteristics only partially reflected the differences in vegetation biomass input. C and N pools and microbial biomass/activity in S+NT were greater than in S+T, while values in UV were intermediate between the two other treatments. S+NT also had higher POM-C and no differences were found between S+T and UV, but S+T POM fraction was characterized by fresh material. The highest aggregate stability was in S+NT, followed by UV, and it lowest was in S+T. Vineyard management strongly affects soil functionality, as displayed by changes in microbial activity, SOM dynamics and aggregate stability. Tillage, even if shallow and performed infrequently, has a negative effect on soil C and N pools and aggregate stability. Consequently, the combination of a sown cover crop and reduced tillage still limits SOM accumulation and reduces aggregate stability in vineyards’ surface soil layer, suggesting relatively lower resistance of soils under this management system to erosion compared to no-till systems.

Technical Abstract: Vineyard management practices to enhance soil conservation principally focus on increasing carbon (C) input, whereas mitigating impacts of disturbance through reduced tillage has been rarely considered. Furthermore, information is lacking on the effects of soil management practices adopted in the under-vine zone on soil conservation. In this work, we evaluated the long-term effects (22 years) of alley with a sown cover crop and no-tillage (S + NT), alley with a sown cover crop and tillage (S + T), and under-vine zone with no vegetation and tillage (UV) on soil organic matter (SOM), microbial activity, aggregate stability, and their mutual interactions in a California vineyard in USA. Vegetation biomass, microbial biomass and activity, organic C and nitrogen (N) pools, and SOM size fractionation and aggregate stability were analysed. Soil characteristics only partially reflected the differences in vegetation biomass input. Organic C and N pools and microbial biomass/activity in S + NT were higher than those in S + T, while the values in UV were intermediate between the other two treatments. Furthermore, S + NT also exhibited higher particulate organic matter C in soil. No differences were found in POM C between S + T and UV, but the POM fraction in S + T was characterized by fresher material. Aggregate stability was decreased in the order: S + NT > UV > S + T. Tillage, even if shallow and performed infrequently, had a negative effect on organic C and N pools and aggregate stability. Consequently, the combination of a sown cover crop and reduced tillage still limited SOM accumulation and reduced aggregate stability in the surface soil layer of vineyards, suggesting relatively lower resistance of soils to erosion compared to no-till systems.