Groundcover Mulching in Mediterranean Vineyards Improves Soil Chemical, Physical and Biological Health Already in the Short Term

Vineyards are among the land uses with the highest soil degradation rate in Mediterranean Europe, mainly due to intensive tillage management. Therefore, practices able to foster soil health are critical to promote sustainable wine production. We studied the following treatments in two organic farms in Chianti Classico (Italy): conventional tillage, spontaneous vegetation, pigeon bean (Vicia faba var. minor) incorporated in spring and a mixture of barley (Hordeum vulgare) and squarrosum clover (Trifolium squarrosum), both incorporated and left as mulch. An innovative approach, based on gamma-ray and apparent electrical conductivity, was used to account for the fine-scale soil variability that was included in the statistical model. Mulched groundcovers were associated with higher soil organic matter compared to tillage, already after two years. An increased N availability was found under all groundcovers compared with tillage. The effect of soil management practices on P2O5 strongly varied across farms and years, while it was not statistically significant on K availability. Spontaneous vegetation positively influenced the soil structure index, soil penetration resistance and soil biological health. The results show that mulched groundcovers can improve soil health already in the short term, thereby potentially increasing the sustainability of the wine sector.

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Healthy Soils for Healthy Vines

10.1071/9781486307395 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Robert White ◽

Mark Krstic

Keyword(s):

Management Practices ◽

Dynamic Properties ◽

Soil Health ◽

Clear Understanding ◽

Small Individual ◽

Fruit Composition ◽

The Face ◽

Biological Health ◽

Primary Focus ◽

Properties Of Soil

Healthy Soils for Healthy Vines provides a clear understanding of vineyard soils and how to manage and improve soil health for best vineyard performance. It covers the inherent and dynamic properties of soil health, how to choose which soil properties to monitor, how to monitor soil and vine performance, and how vineyard management practices affect soil health, fruit composition and wine sensory characters. It also covers the basic tenets of sustainable winegrowing and their significance for business resilience in the face of a changing climate. This book will be of practical value to anyone growing grapevines, managing a vineyard or making wine, from the small individual grower to the large wine company employee. It will be of special interest to winegrowers employing organic, natural or biodynamic methods of production, where the primary focus is on the biological health of the soil.

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Improvement of Soil Health through Residue Management and Conservation Tillage in Rice-Wheat Cropping System of Punjab, Pakistan

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy10121844 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 1844 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Adnan Zahid ◽

Sajid Ali ◽

Mukhtar Ahmed ◽

Nadeem Iqbal

Keyword(s):

Soil Quality ◽

Management Practices ◽

Conservation Tillage ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Soil Health ◽

Cropping System ◽

Conventional Tillage ◽

Residue Management ◽

Straw Management ◽

Long Run

In South Asia, soil health degradation is affecting the sustainability of the rice-wheat cropping system (RWCS). Indeed, for the sustainability of the soil quality, new adaptive technologies, i.e., conservation tillage and straw management resource conservation, are promising options. This investigation was focused on the interaction of tillage and straw management practices and their effects on Aridisols, Yermosols soil quality, and nutrients dynamics with different soil profiles within RWCS. The long-term field experiment was started in 2014 with the scenarios (i) conventional tillage (SC1), (ii) residue incorporation (SC2), (iii) straw management practices (SC3 and SC4) and conservation tillage (SC5). Conservation tillage practice (SC5) showed significant impact on properties of soil and availability of nutrients in comparison with that of conventional farmers practice (SC1) at the studied soil depths. The SC5 showed significant results of gravitational water contents (25.34%), moderate pH (7.4), soil organic-matter (7.6 g kg−1), total nitrogen (0.38 g kg−1), available phosphate (7.4 mg kg−1), available potassium (208 mg kg−1) compared to SC1 treatment at 0 to 15 cm soil depth. Whereas, DTPA-extractable-Cu, Mn, and Zn concentration were significantly higher, i.e., 1.12 mg kg−1, 2.14 mg kg−1, and 4.35 mg kg−1, respectively under SC5 than conventional farmer’s practices, while DTPA (diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid) extractable Fe (6.15 mg kg−1) was more in straw management practices (SC4) than conventional and conservation tillage. Therefore, conservation tillage (SC5) can surge the sustainability of the region by improving soil assets and nutrients accessibility and has the potential to minimize inorganic fertilizers input in the long run.

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Sensitivity of Nematode Community Analysis to Agricultural Management Practices and Inoculation with Local Effective Microorganisms in the Southeastern United States

Soil Systems ◽

10.3390/soilsystems3020041 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 41 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Laura Ney ◽

Dorcas Franklin ◽

Kishan Mahmud ◽

Miguel Cabrera ◽

Dennis Hancock ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Management Practices ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Soil Health ◽

Community Analysis ◽

Nematode Community ◽

Effective Microorganisms ◽

Cereal Rye ◽

Enrichment Index ◽

Structure Index ◽

Components Analysis

In order to ensure a soil system’s sustained ability to carry out ecosystem services, indicators that assess soil health are needed. We examined the capacity of nematode maturity index (MI), structure index (SI), enrichment index (EI), and trophic groups as measures of soil health, by determining soil nematodes’ sensitivity to cropping systems: rotation, perturbation, fertilization, and inoculation with local effective microorganisms (LEM). Plots were managed for two years under different rotations, annual ryegrass/fallow (ARF) and cereal rye/edamame soybean (CRS). In the third year of the study, all of the plots were managed exactly the same as a wheat/edamame rotation. Data were collected in both winter and summer of this year. In all three years, three inoculant treatments (LEM, False-LEM and No inoculate) were applied. In CRS plots, which received the most tillage and fertilization, there were greater SI values in soils that received LEM application. Nematode community structure described by each MI, SI, and EI were sensitive enough to reflect changes due to differences in soil management practices from previous years. Principal components analysis confirmed that nitrogen mineralization is an important measure to include when using nematode community analysis in the development of a soil health index.

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Photosynthetic responses of Coffea arabica leaves to a short-term high light exposure in relation to N availability

Physiologia Plantarum ◽

10.1034/j.1399-3054.1997.1010130.x ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 101 (1) ◽

pp. 229-239 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jose C. Ramalho ◽

Thos L. Pons ◽

Henri W. Groeneveld ◽

M. Antonieta Nunes

Keyword(s):

Coffea Arabica ◽

Light Exposure ◽

High Light ◽

N Availability ◽

Short Term ◽

Photosynthetic Responses

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Financial Management of Tires Retail and Restaurant Business in Greater Jakarta

ICONIET PROCEEDING ◽

10.33555/iconiet.v2i4.45 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

pp. 267-275

Author(s):

Sung Suk Kim ◽

Jacob Donald Tan ◽

Rita Juliana ◽

John Tampil Purba

Keyword(s):

Financial Management ◽

Management Practices ◽

Working Capital ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Short Term ◽

Direct Observations ◽

Medium Enterprises ◽

Cash Reserves ◽

Retained Earnings ◽

Computerized System

This study aims to explore the financial management practices ofsmall-and-medium-enterprises (SMEs) in the Greater Jakarta (Jabodetabek). We investigate into 3 SME cases by conducting the semi-structured interviews with the owner-managers and using direct observations to know the practices of financial management of SMEs. Through the research, we have found six propositions related to the practice of short-term financial management. They apply bootstraps to ensure availability of working capital. They set aside cash reserves from retained earnings and minimize loans from financial institutions. They have the computerized system to track receivables facilitating working capital needs. They keep theirinventory control efficient to manage working capital. They screen customers using transactional records and reputations to minimize the risk of bad debts.

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Tracking Changes on Soil Structure and Organic Carbon Sequestration after 30 Years of Different Tillage and Management Practices

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11020291 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 291

Author(s):

Ramón Bienes ◽

Maria Jose Marques ◽

Blanca Sastre ◽

Andrés García-Díaz ◽

Iris Esparza ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Triticum Aestivum ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Management Practices ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Triticum Aestivum L ◽

Field Trials ◽

Conventional Tillage ◽

Soil Parameters ◽

Wilting Point

Long-term field trials are essential for monitoring the effects of sustainable land management strategies for adaptation and mitigation to climate change. The influence of more than thirty years of different management is analyzed on extensive crops under three tillage systems, conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT), and no-tillage (NT), and with two crop rotations, monoculture winter-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and wheat-vetch (Triticum aestivum L.-Vicia sativa L.), widely present in the center of Spain. The soil under NT experienced the largest change in organic carbon (SOC) sequestration, macroaggregate stability, and bulk density. In the MT and NT treatments, SOC content was still increasing after 32 years, being 26.5 and 32.2 Mg ha−1, respectively, compared to 20.8 Mg ha−1 in CT. The SOC stratification (ratio of SOC at the topsoil/SOC at the layer underneath), an indicator of soil conservation, increased with decreasing tillage intensity (2.32, 1.36, and 1.01 for NT, MT, and CT respectively). Tillage intensity affected the majority of soil parameters, except the water stable aggregates, infiltration, and porosity. The NT treatment increased available water, but only in monocropping. More water was retained at the permanent wilting point in NT treatments, which can be a disadvantage in dry periods of these edaphoclimatic conditions.

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Analyzing Factors Affecting the Sustainability of Land Management Practices in Mecha Woreda, Northwestern Ethiopia

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13137007 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (13) ◽

pp. 7007

Author(s):

Habtamu Nebere ◽

Degefa Tolossa ◽

Amare Bantider

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Land Management ◽

Land Degradation ◽

Quantitative Data ◽

Management Practices ◽

Short Term ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Decision Making Processes ◽

Household Heads ◽

The Impact

In Ethiopia, the practice of land management started three decades ago in order to address the problem of land degradation and to further boost agricultural production. However, the impact of land management practices in curbing land degradation problems and improving the productivity of the agricultural sector is insignificant. Various empirical works have previously identified the determinants of the adoption rate of land management practices. However, the sustainability of land management practices after adoption, and the various factors that control the sustainability of implemented land management practices, are not well addressed. This study analyzed the factors affecting the sustainability of land management practices after implementation in Mecha Woreda, northwestern Ethiopia. The study used 378 sample respondents, selected by a systematic random sampling technique. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the quantitative data, while the qualitative data were qualitatively and concurrently analyzed with the quantitative data. The sustained supply of fodder from the implemented land management practices, as well as improved cattle breed, increases the sustainability of the implemented land management practices. While lack of agreement in the community, lack of enforcing community bylaws, open cattle grazing, lack of benefits of implemented land management practices, acting as barrier for farming practices, poor participation of household heads during planning and decision-making processes, as well as the lack of short-term benefits, reduce the sustainability of the implemented land management practices. Thus, it is better to allow for the full participation of household heads in planning and decision-making processes to bring practical and visible results in land management practices. In addition, recognizing short-term benefits to compensate the land lost in constructing land management structures must be the strategy in land management practices. Finally, reducing the number of cattle and practicing stall feeding is helpful both for the sustainability of land management practices and the productivity of cattle. In line with this, fast-growing fodder grass species have to be introduced for household heads to grow on land management structures and communal grazing fields for stall feeding.

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High probability of yield gain through conservation agriculture in dry regions for major staple crops

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-82375-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yang Su ◽

Benoit Gabrielle ◽

Damien Beillouin ◽

David Makowski

Keyword(s):

Management Practices ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Relative Yield ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Conventional Tillage ◽

Machine Learning Algorithms ◽

Agricultural Practice ◽

Crop Species ◽

Yield Gain

AbstractConservation agriculture (CA) has been promoted to mitigate climate change, reduce soil erosion, and provide a variety of ecosystem services. Yet, its impacts on crop yields remains controversial. To gain further insight, we mapped the probability of yield gain when switching from conventional tillage systems (CT) to CA worldwide. Relative yield changes were estimated with machine learning algorithms trained by 4403 paired yield observations on 8 crop species extracted from 413 publications. CA has better productive performance than no-till system (NT), and it stands a more than 50% chance to outperform CT in dryer regions of the world, especially with proper agricultural management practices. Residue retention has the largest positive impact on CA productivity comparing to other management practices. The variations in the productivity of CA and NT across geographical and climatical regions were illustrated on global maps. CA appears as a sustainable agricultural practice if targeted at specific climatic regions and crop species.

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Effects of Management and Hillside Position on Soil Organic Carbon Stratification in Mediterranean Centenary Olive Grove

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11040650 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 650

Author(s):

Jesús Aguilera-Huertas ◽

Beatriz Lozano-García ◽

Manuel González-Rosado ◽

Luis Parras-Alcántara

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Quality ◽

Management Practices ◽

Soil Management ◽

Olive Grove ◽

No Tillage ◽

Short Term ◽

Degradation Degree

The short- and medium—long-term effects of management and hillside position on soil organic carbon (SOC) changes were studied in a centenary Mediterranean rainfed olive grove. One way to measure these changes is to analyze the soil quality, as it assesses soil degradation degree and attempts to identify management practices for sustainable soil use. In this context, the SOC stratification index (SR-COS) is one of the best indicators of soil quality to assess the degradation degree from SOC content without analyzing other soil properties. The SR-SOC was calculated in soil profiles (horizon-by-horizon) to identify the best soil management practices for sustainable use. The following time periods and soil management combinations were tested: (i) in the medium‒long-term (17 years) from conventional tillage (CT) to no-tillage (NT), (ii) in the short-term (2 years) from CT to no-tillage with cover crops (NT-CC), and (iii) the effect in the short-term (from CT to NT-CC) of different topographic positions along a hillside. The results indicate that the SR-SOC increased with depth for all management practices. The SR-SOC ranged from 1.21 to 1.73 in CT0, from 1.48 to 3.01 in CT1, from 1.15 to 2.48 in CT2, from 1.22 to 2.39 in NT-CC and from 0.98 to 4.16 in NT; therefore, the soil quality from the SR-SOC index was not directly linked to the increase or loss of SOC along the soil profile. This demonstrates the time-variability of SR-SOC and that NT improves soil quality in the long-term.

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Evaluation of Humic Fertilizers Applied at Full and Reduced Nitrogen Rates on Kentucky Bluegrass Quality and Soil Health

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11020395 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 395

Author(s):

Alex J. Lindsey ◽

Adam W. Thoms ◽

Marshall D. McDaniel ◽

Nick E. Christians

Keyword(s):

Microbial Biomass ◽

Humic Substances ◽

Management Practices ◽

Soil Health ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Kentucky Bluegrass ◽

N Fertilizer ◽

Turfgrass Quality ◽

N Rates ◽

Fertilizer Rates

Soil health and sustainable management practices have garnered much interest within the turfgrass industry. Among the many practices that enhance soil health and sustainability are applying soil additives to enhance soil biological activity and reducing nitrogen (N) inputs—complimentary practices. A two-year study was conducted to investigate if reduced N fertilizer rates applied with humic substances could provide comparable turfgrass quality as full N rates, and whether humic fertilizers would increase biological aspects of soil health (i.e., microbial biomass and activity). Treatments included synthetic fertilizer with black gypsum (SFBG), poly-coated humic-coated urea (PCHCU; two rates), urea + humic dispersing granules (HDG; two rates), urea, stabilized nitrogen, HDG, and a nontreated control. Reduced rates of N with humic substances maintained turfgrass quality and cover, and reduced clipping biomass compared to full N rates. There were no differences in soil physical and chemical properties besides soil sulfur (S) concentration. SFBG resulted in the highest soil S concentration. Fertilizer treatments had minimal effect on microbial biomass and other plant-available nutrients. However, PCHCU (full rate) increased potentially mineralizable carbon (PMC) and N (PMN) by 68% and 59%, respectively, compared to the nontreated control. Meanwhile SFBG and stabilized nitrogen also increased PMC and PMN by 77% and 50%, and 65% and 59%, respectively. Overall, applications of reduced N fertilizer rates with the addition of humic substances could be incorporated into a more sustainable and environmentally friendly turfgrass fertilizer program.

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