Geotextile as a tool against soil erosion in vineyards and orchards

Abstract

According to practical experiences and laboratory measurements geotextiles may play a significant role in combating soil erosion. Besides the widespread synthetic materials, cheap hand woven geotextiles from organic materials are available as well. They are environment friendly and biologically degradable. The BORASSUS Project funded by FP6 of the European Union (Contract number: INCO-CT-2005-510745) deals with the use of geotextiles made of two kinds of palm leaves (Borassus aethiopum, Mauritia flexuosa), bamboo and jute in ten countries, under different land uses and climatic conditions. Socio-economic benefits of geotextile production in developing countries are also investigated. Within the framework of the project an experimental station was established in North East Hungary (Abaújszántó). 3x4 erosion plots of 10x2 m were built up to measure soil loss, runoff and soil moisture conditions in order to compare slopes covered and uncovered by geotextiles. Soil moisture conditions are permanently measured on the soil surface and at 20 cm depth. Three different land use types, i.e. traditional and espalier vineyards and a new orchard plantation are studied under sub-humid temperate climatic conditions. Our first results covering the period of one year show that natural geotextiles decrease soil loss. Runoff volume was increased on plots under geotextile cover. The effect of different land uses influenced first of all the amount of soil loss. No relationship between land use and runoff volume could be detected. Geotextiles favourably affect soil microclimate keeping the soil surface moist for weeks even in very dry periods. The main conclusion is that palm leaf and jute geotextiles are beneficial for the soil by reducing soil and water loss and by regulating soil moisture.

Soil erosion in sloping vineyards under conventional and organic land use managements (Saar-Mosel Valley, Germany)

“…Mulching is another possibility to reduce runoff and erosion, where cut grass, straw or other organic materials (Hueso-González et al, 2014 form a thin protective blanket over the bare soil (Stigter, 1984). A similar method is the use of geotextiles to shield the soil from runoff and provide favourable soil moisture conditions (Kertész et al, 2007;Giménez-Morera et al, 2010), but is more expensive. Soil conservation measures proved to reduce soil and nutrient losses with no tillage Cerdà et al, 2016).…”

Soil management and seasonality impact on soil properties and soil erosion in steep vineyards of north-western Croatia

“…Because of these facts, the temporary or permanent surface cover has been recognised as a nature-based solution for mitigating land degradation in permanent plantations, such as orchards and vineyards (Baiamonte et al, 2019;Morvan et al, 2014;Panagos et al, 2015). There are different types of surface cover, such as straw (Gholami et al, 2013), pomace (Parras-Alcántara et al, 2016), stones (Abu-Zreig et al, 2011), geotextiles (Kertész et al, 2007), wooden chips (Smets et al, 2008), pruning residues (Rodriguez-Lizana et al, 2008) and bark strands (Fernández and Vega, 2014) as good examples of mulching practices. They are instant solutions and need constant application due to their possibility to incorporate into the soil (Li et al, 2020;Zhang et al, 2021).…”

Crop growth, carbon sequestration and soil erosion in an organic vineyard of the Villány Wine District, Southwest Hungary

“…Soil erosion in vineyards with steep slopes depletes soil fertility and indirectly reduces the quality of grapes and wine (Rodrigo-Comino, J. et al 2018). A large variety of soil conservation measures are proposed (from minimum tillage to mulching and even geotextiles - Kertész, Á. et al 2007). Their successful application, however, is heavily dependent on local conditions.…”