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No tillage and leguminous cover crop improve soil quality in a typical rainfed Mediterranean system
Soil and crop management influence soil organic carbon (SOC), chemical composition, and overall soil quality. In a Mediterranean region, a study initiated in 1994 examined the long-term effects of conventional tillage (CT) versus no-tillage (NT) practices. Initially focusing on continuous durum wheat cultivation until 2009, the experiment later introduced a two-year rotation of durum wheat and Vicia faba L. cover crops in half of the CT and NT fields. SOC was monitored from 2008 to 2018, while microbial biomass (as dsDNA), soluble nitrogen (N), and enzyme activities (EAs) were monitored from 2011 to 2014 to evaluate the rotation's impact.
Between 2009 and 2018, CT yields were on average 15% higher than NT, especially during high rainfall years. NT significantly increased SOC content in the 0-30 cm soil layer, along with higher levels of soluble N, dsDNA, and EAs at 0-10 cm depth. NT led to a 23% and 10% increase in SOC stock and SOC stock per equivalent soil mass respectively compared to CT. EAs increased by over 50% under NT, indicating enhanced biological activity. The SOC increase due to NT was limited to the top 10 cm, with a decrease at deeper depths (up to 50 cm). Introducing cover crops over four years did not yield significant impacts, suggesting the need for a longer period to observe noticeable effects.
Overall, adopting NT practices resulted in higher SOC concentration, enhanced soil biological activity, and improved biogeochemical cycles, emphasizing the positive impact of no-tillage on soil health and sustainability.</p
A holistic framework to assess the sustainability of irrigated agricultural systems
<p>Irrigated agriculture is a key activity for the long-term survival of human-environmental systems and the assessment of agricultural sustainability has been gaining increasing relevance. In spite of several proposals developed, there is not a holistic approach that can be generally applied to assess sustainability of irrigated agricultural areas. In this paper we present a framework and associated indicators for the assessment of sustainability of irrigated agricultural systems in different contexts and locations. The framework covers four main sustainability dimensions: environmental integrity, economic resilience and profitability, social wellbeing and good governance. This approach was tested in 10 agricultural areas in eight different countries that represent a wide variety of situations in terms of agricultural development, environmental conditions, socio-economic settings and political contexts, but that share the fact that water use is a critical aspect for agricultural development. The obtained results illustrate the usefulness of the proposed framework to obtain a holistic picture of sustainability in irrigated agriculture areas, even in situations of poor data availability. It is also an excellent starting point for the construction of roadmaps towards more sustainable agricultural systems.</p