Abstract
Cultivation of grapevines in sloping soils is very widespread all over the world, representing also a fundamental branch of the local economy of several hilly zones. Vineyards can be managed in different ways especially the inter-rows. These management practices may influence deeply soil properties and grapevine root development. Therefore, this work aims to analyze the effects of different agronomical practices of inter-rows on soil properties, grapevine root systems and proneness towards shallow landslides. We focused on traditional agricultural techniques of tillage and permanent grass cover as well as the alternation of these two practices between adjacent inter-rows. The studied parameters were: (i) soil physical and hydrological properties; (ii) soil biodiversity; (iii) root density; (iv) root mechanical properties and root reinforcement; (v) probability of occurrence of shallow landslides. The research was conducted in several test-sites of the Oltrepò Pavese (Lombardy region, north-western Italy), one of the most important Italian zones for wine production in northern Italian Apennines. Among the examined soil properties, soil hydraulic conductivity was the most influenced one by different soil management practices. The absence of soil tillage allowed to increase superficial (first 0.2 m of soil) hydraulic conductivity, as a consequence of higher macroporosity and amount in organic matter. Within the soil biological features, soil microarthropod communities showed more complexity where permanent grass cover or alternation management of the inter-rows were applied. Regarding the features of the grapevine root system, vineyards with alternation management of inter-rows had the highest root density and the strongest root reinforcement, of up to 45% in comparison to permanent grass cover, and up to 67–73% in comparison to tilled vineyards. As a consequence, slopes with medium steepness (10–18°) were unstable if inter-rows of vineyards were tilled, while vineyards with permanent grass cover or alternation in the inter rows promoted the stability of slopes with higher steepness (> 21–25° for vineyards with permanent grass cover in the inter rows, 28–33° for vineyards with alternation). The results of this study yielded important information to establish effective management practices of vineyards such as conserving organic matter and reducing slope instabilities by a better development of the root apparatus. Possible land use managements acting as mitigation measures for shallow landslides susceptibility could be also implemented. This work was supported by the project Oltrepò BioDiverso, funded by Fondazione Cariplo in the frame of AttivAree Program.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
No tillage increased superficial soil hydraulic conductivity through macroporosity and organic matter.
- Treatment
- absence of soil tillagee0
- Outcome
- superficial (first 0.2 m of soil) hydraulic conductivitye0
- Direction
- increasee0
- Qualifier
- higher macroporosity and amount in organic mattere0
- Comparator
- soil tillagee0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“The absence of soil tillage allowed to increase superficial (first 0.2 m of soil) hydraulic conductivity, as a consequence of higher macroporosity and amount in organic matter.”
e1“Cultivation of grapevines in sloping soils”
Claim · model-written summary
Permanent grass cover or alternating inter-row management produced more complex soil microarthropod communities.
- Treatment
- permanent grass cover or alternation management of the inter-rowse0
- Outcome
- soil microarthropod communitiese0
- Direction
- more complexitye0
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“soil microarthropod communities showed more complexity where permanent grass cover or alternation management of the inter-rows were applied.”
Claim · model-written summary
Alternating inter-row management gave vineyards the highest root density.
VitisNot reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“vineyards with alternation management of inter-rows had the highest root density and the strongest root reinforcement”
e1“Cultivation of grapevines in sloping soils”
Claim · model-written summary
Alternating management gave root reinforcement up to 45% above permanent grass cover.
- Treatment
- alternation management of inter-rowse0
- Outcome
- root reinforcemente0
- Direction
- strongeste0
- Value
- up to 45%e0
- Comparator
- permanent grass covere0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“vineyards with alternation management of inter-rows had the highest root density and the strongest root reinforcement, of up to 45% in comparison to permanent grass cover, and up to 67–73% in comparison to tilled vineyards.”
e1“Cultivation of grapevines in sloping soils”
Claim · model-written summary
Alternating management gave root reinforcement up to 67–73% above tilled vineyards.
- Treatment
- alternation management of inter-rowse0
- Outcome
- root reinforcemente0
- Direction
- strongeste0
- Value
- up to 67–73%e0
- Comparator
- tilled vineyardse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“vineyards with alternation management of inter-rows had the highest root density and the strongest root reinforcement, of up to 45% in comparison to permanent grass cover, and up to 67–73% in comparison to tilled vineyards.”
e1“Cultivation of grapevines in sloping soils”
Claim · model-written summary
Tilled vineyard inter-rows were unstable on slopes of 10–18°.
Not reportedTaxonComparatorDirection
Verbatim
e0“slopes with medium steepness (10–18°) were unstable if inter-rows of vineyards were tilled”
Claim · model-written summary
permanent grass cover promoted slope stability at > 21–25°.
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“vineyards with permanent grass cover or alternation in the inter rows promoted the stability of slopes with higher steepness (> 21–25° for vineyards with permanent grass cover in the inter rows, 28–33° for vineyards with alternation).”
Claim · model-written summary
alternation in the inter rows promoted slope stability at 28–33°.
- Treatment
- alternation in the inter rowse0
- Outcome
- stability of slopese0
- Direction
- promotede0
- Value
- 28–33°e0
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“vineyards with permanent grass cover or alternation in the inter rows promoted the stability of slopes with higher steepness (> 21–25° for vineyards with permanent grass cover in the inter rows, 28–33° for vineyards with alternation).”
The same questions in other papers
tillage · soil: physics · VitisPositive and negative results
1 paper in the same direction as this paper · 1 in the opposite direction
- negative
- positive
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.