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Experimental assessment of runoff and soil erosion in an olive grove on a Vertic soil in southern Spain as affected by soil management
Author(s) -
Gómez J.A.,
Romero P.,
Giráldez J.V.,
Fereres E.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
soil use and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.709
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1475-2743
pISSN - 0266-0032
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-2743.2004.tb00392.x
Subject(s) - surface runoff , environmental science , tillage , erosion , hydrology (agriculture) , soil compaction , soil conservation , soil loss , cover crop , canopy , soil management , agronomy , soil science , soil water , geology , agroforestry , agriculture , ecology , biology , paleontology , geotechnical engineering
. Three different management systems were compared in an olive grove on a Vertic soil, near the city of Cordoba, Spain. Rainfall, runoff and soil loss were recorded from experimental plots of 6×12 m for three years. Results indicated that the no‐tillage system, which was kept weed‐free with herbicides, gave the largest soil loss (8.5 t ha −1 yr −1 ) and average annual runoff coefficient (21.5%), due to increased soil compaction, particularly outside the canopy projection area. A system that used a grass cover gave the lowest soil losses (1.2 t ha −1 yr −1 ) and average annual runoff coefficient (2.5%) due to the protective effects of the cover and increased soil aggregate stability. The third system, conventional tillage, gave intermediate results, with a soil loss of 4.0 t ha −1 yr −1 and an average runoff coefficient of 7.4%. The search for alternative soil management to conventional tillage should consider occasional light tillage to establish a grass cover that would keep both soil erosion and runoff losses to a minimum.