Management of cruciferous cover crops by mowing for soil and water conservation in southern Spain

Alcántara, C.; Pujadas, A.; Saavedra, Milagros Saavedra

doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2011.01.016

Cited by 56 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…In fact, as compared to spring tillage, mowing did not negatively affect soil water retention during the dry season of most study years. This is most probably because mowing before the water balance starts to be negative minimizes soil water use by the vegetation cover (Alcántara et al, 2011;Ferreira et al, 2013). The trend to improved soil water conservation observed under vegetation mowing might be ascribed to the mulch effect of plant residues left on the soil surface, which lowers soil water evaporation under drought (Taguas et al, 2010;Alcántara et al, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is most probably because mowing before the water balance starts to be negative minimizes soil water use by the vegetation cover (Alcántara et al, 2011;Ferreira et al, 2013). The trend to improved soil water conservation observed under vegetation mowing might be ascribed to the mulch effect of plant residues left on the soil surface, which lowers soil water evaporation under drought (Taguas et al, 2010;Alcántara et al, 2011). This effect is of utmost importance in the semi-arid rainfed Mediterranean oliviculture (Zuazo et al, 2009), particularly during fruit development.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increment of plant diversity and grass abundance results not only in higher straw cover, but also in higher root abundance and diversity (Gómez et al, 2009a;Taguas et al, 2010;Alcántara et al, 2011), also enhancing soil stability and water infiltration and holding capacity (Pohl et al, 2009) reducing thus soil erosion (García-Fayos & Bochet, 2009;Ramos et al, 2010;Gucci et al, 2012). Under tillage management, on the other hand, the higher proportion of bare ground might have affected soil moisture by reducing water infiltration, as obser-640 M. P. Simoes et al / Span J Agric Res (2014) 12(3): 633-643 ved in other olive orchards (Gómez et al, 2009a;Alcántara et al, 2011). Reduction in the infiltration of rainfall to be used by olive trees can be associated with sediment and runoff losses that are a significant source of nutrients loss, thus increasing the risk of eutrophication (Gómez et al, 2009a).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Natural vegetation management to conserve biodiversity and soil water in olive orchards

Simões

Belo

Pinto-Cruz

et al. 2014

Span. j. agric. res.

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The combined impact of soil tillage intensification and expansion of olive farming is resulting in soil degradation and biodiversity decline. We hypothesized that, instead of tilling, mowing to control the natural vegetation in spring can increase biodiversity and improve soil quality. We compared the effects of natural vegetation mowing (NVM) with those of tillage (NVT) on plant community composition and cover, soil water content and resistance to penetration, and olive yield over an 8-year period, in a Mediterranean rainfed olive orchard. NVM had an average of 28 more species and showed a strong positive correlation with Poaceae and Fabaceae, and also with geophytes and hemicryptophytes. In contrast, NVT was negatively correlated with species richness and diversity, with perennial life forms, and positively correlated with Convolvulaceae. Proportions of grass and straw cover in spring were higher in NVM from the beginning of the study (average difference was about 20%). In autumn, grass cover became higher in NVM than in NVT from year five (13% more) and straw cover from year two (30% more). Olive production did not differ between treatments in any of the years. Soil water was higher in NVM, at both soil depths, particularly in mid-summer and after the first autumn rains (1 to 2%). Soil resistance to penetration was 1 Mpa higher in NVM than in NVT. As compared to conventional tillage, natural vegetation cover mowed in spring seems to be an effective management practice to improve the overall rainfed olive orchard biodiversity and soil quality, without affecting production.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Natural vegetation management to conserve biodiversity and soil water in olive orchards

Simões

Belo

Pinto-Cruz

et al. 2014

Span. j. agric. res.

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“…Allelochemicals from cover crops mostly suppress weed growth . Many studies have observed that mulches of strongly allelopathic crops have a greater effect than mulches of weakly allelopathic crops, in some cases by as much as 30% . Residues of S. alba incorporated into the soil delayed weed emergence in the following spring by 3 weeks.…”

Section: What We Know So Far About Weed Suppression Mechanisms Of Covmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…31,32,34 Many studies have observed that mulches of strongly allelopathic crops have a greater effect than mulches of weakly allelopathic crops, in some cases by as much as 30%. [35][36][37] Residues of S. alba incorporated into the soil delayed weed emergence in the following spring by 3 weeks. 36 Brassicaceae species contain water-soluble glucosinolate metabolites, 33 which have allelopathic activity.…”

Section: What We Know So Far About Weed Suppression Mechanisms Of Covmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advancing cover cropping in temperate integrated weed management

Gerhards

Schappert

2019

Pest Management Science

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The effects of cover crops on weeds and the underlying mechanisms of competition, physical control and allelopathy are not fully understood. Current knowledge reveals great potential for using cover crops as a preventive method in integrated weed management. Cover crops are able to suppress 70–95% of weeds and volunteer crops in the fall‐to‐spring period between two main crops. In addition, cover crop residues can reduce weed emergence during early development of the following cash crop by presenting a physical barrier and releasing allelopathic compounds into the soil solution. Therefore, cover crops can partly replace the weed suppressive function of stubble‐tillage operations and non‐selective chemical weed control in the fall‐to‐spring season. This review describes methods to quantify the competitive and allelopathic effects of cover crops. Insight obtained through such analysis is useful for mixing competitive and allelopathic cover crop species with maximal total weed suppression ability. It seems that cover crops produce and release more allelochemicals when plants are exposed to stress or physical damage. Avena strigose, for example, showed stronger weed suppression under dry conditions than during a moist autumn. These findings raise the question of whether allelopathy can be induced artificially. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

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Simulation Study of the Impact of Permanent Groundcover on Soil and Water Changes in Jujube Orchards on Sloping Ground

et al. 2014

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Land degradation is recognized as a major environmental problem in rainfed fruit orchards on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Six treatments were used to investigate surface runoff and soil moisture by means of simulated rainfall experiments: (i) a control (clean cultivation) (CC); (ii) strip cock's foot (Dactylis glomerata L.) cover (SCF); (iii) strip crown vetch (Coronilla varia L.) cover (SCV); (iv) strip bird's foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) cover (SBF); (v) strip white clover (Trifolium repens L.) cover (SWC); and (vi) complete white clover cover (WCC). The time to runoff was significantly longer under WCC than under other treatments (p < 0·05). The total runoff volume and sediment yield were significantly greater under CC than under the vegetation cover treatments (p < 0·05). The mean infiltration rate under WCC and CC was the largest and lowest and differed significantly from that under other treatments (p < 0·05). The change of soil water storage was the largest under WCC and the least under CC. The soil moisture was significantly greater under SCF than under other treatments (p < 0·05). Treatment SCF seemed to be the best groundcover for rainfed sloping jujube orchards on the Chinese Loess Plateau.

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Management of cruciferous cover crops by mowing for soil and water conservation in southern Spain

Cited by 56 publications

References 17 publications

Natural vegetation management to conserve biodiversity and soil water in olive orchards

Natural vegetation management to conserve biodiversity and soil water in olive orchards

Advancing cover cropping in temperate integrated weed management

Simulation Study of the Impact of Permanent Groundcover on Soil and Water Changes in Jujube Orchards on Sloping Ground

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