The restoring effect of selective agronomic strategies on optimal soil functionality of degraded areas within organic vineyard was evaluated using the nematode community as an indicator of soil quality.  Three different restoring strategies were implemented in two organic farms located in Tuscany (Italy). The relative abundance of nematode trophic groups and the maturity index showed that the use of compost improved soil biological quality and increased the abundance of predators. Instead, dry mulching and green manure applications were useful to control the most dangerous nematodes of grapevines, namely the virus-vector Xiphinema index (Longidoridae)

D'Errico, G.

L'Abate, G.

Landi, S.

Priori, S.

Simoncini, S.

Organic Eprints

EQA – Environmental quality / Qualité de l’Environnement / Qualità ambientale, 31 (2018) 41-46  DOI: 10.6092/issn.2281-4485/7892 41 NEMATODE COMMUNITIES AS INDICATORS OF SOIL QUALITY IN VINEYARD SYSTEM: A CASE OF STUDY IN DEGRADED AREAS  Silvia Landi (1)*, Giada d’Errico (2), Stefania Simoncini (1), Giovanni L’Abate (3), Simone Priori (3)  (1) CREA-DC, Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification, Florence, Italy (2) Dipartimento di Agraria, Università degli Studi di Napoli, Federico II, Naple, Italy (3) CREA-AA, Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Florence, Italy  * Corresponding author email: silvia.landi@crea.gov.it   Abstract  The restoring effect of selective agronomic strategies on optimal soil functionality of degraded areas within organic vineyard was evaluated using the nematode community as an indicator of soil quality.  Three different restoring strategies were implemented in two organic farms located in Tuscany (Italy). The relative abundance of nematode trophic groups and the maturity index showed that the use of compost improved soil biological quality and increased the abundance of predators. Instead, dry mulching and green manure applications were useful to control the most dangerous nematodes of grapevines, namely the virus-vector Xiphinema index (Longidoridae).  Keywords: Free living nematodes, plant parasitic nematodes, dry mulching, green manure, compost  Introduction  In Italian vineyards, it is quite common to have areas characterized by problems in vine health, grape production and quality, often caused by improper land preparation before vine plantation and/or management. Soil malfunctioning can be caused by reduced contribution of the soil fauna to the ecosystem services such as nutrient cycles and organic matter turnover. At this purpose, biomonitoring and abundance evaluation of soil nematode community represent efficient tools to characterize the effects of crop management by assessing the biological soil quality (Landi et al., 2017; 2018). Soil nematodes play a key role in the soil detritus food web, grazing on bacteria and fungi and thus regulating the decomposition of organic matter. Few studies are available on the whole nematode community associated with vineyard (Malossini et al., 2008; Rhaman et al., 2014). Instead, many studies have been conducted on plant parasitic nematodes that cause serious damages in grapevine areas (Andret-Link et al., 2004; Malossini et al., 2011). The main purpose of the present study was to assess the restoring effect of selective agronomic strategies on optimal soil functionality in organic vineyard from degraded areas using the nematode community as an indicator of soil quality.   S. Landi, G. D’Errico, S. Simoncini, G. L’Abate, S. Priori / EQA, 31 (2018) 41-46  42 Materials and methods   Field site and treatments description  The vineyards are situated in two commercial farms in Tuscany: i) FON, Fontodi, Panzano in Chianti, Firenze and ii) SD, San Disdagio, Civitella Marittima, Grosse-to. Detail are reported by D’Avino (2018). In each farm, three different restoring treatments (DM, dry mulching; GM, green manure; COMP, compost) were com-pared to a degraded area (CONTR) and a non-degraded area (ND). The different restoring strategies implemented in each plot were: i) compost (COMP) produced on farm in situ by manure + pruning residue + grass, ii) faba bean (Vicia faba L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) green manure (FAV), iii) sowing and dry mulch-ing with Trifolium squarrosum L. (TRI). Detail about experimental plots and de-scription of the treatments was reported by D’Avino et al. (this issue). FON climate was characterized by a mean annual air temperature of 14.4°C with average maxi-mum temperatures observed in July-August 2017 (over 40°C). The tree years aver-age annual precipitation was 700 mm, mostly concentrated in winter for 2015, in winter and autumn for 2016, and autumn for 2017 (Fig. 1). Instead, SD farm cli-mate was characterized by a mean annual air temperature of 15.7°C with average maximum temperatures observed in July-August 2015, and 2017 (over 40°C). The tree years average annual precipitation was only 584 mm, having been the highest rainfall (655 mm) recorded in 2016 mainly from autumn to winter, and the lowest (500 mm) in 2017 mainly in autumn (Fig. 1).   FON (Panzano in Chianti) SD (Civitella Marittima) 02040608010012014004080120160200240280Mean T 2015 7,4 16,9 22,4 10,7Mean T 2016 7,6 16,8 22,4 10,6Mean T 2017 7,8 17,8 22,5 9,9Rainfall 2015 217,8 141,8 71,4 181,0Rainfall 2016 241,6 158,0 71,6 264,0Rainfall 2017 157,9 135,7 194,7 263,8Winter Spring Summer Fall 02040608010012014004080120160200240280Mean T 2015 9,2 18,2 24,3 11,9Mean T 2016 9,4 17,7 24,0 11,7Mean T 2017 8,9 18,7 23,7 11,0Rainfall 2015 153,1 147,9 136,4 160,6Rainfall 2016 204,8 172,4 91,4 186,0Rainfall 2017 101,4 123,4 118,0 157,3Winter Spring Summer Fall  Figure 1. Mean air temperature and rainfall in FON and SD in 2015, 2016 and 2017.  Soil sampling and soil nematode community analysis  Soil samples were collected in each study area in 2015 (before treatments), 2016 (first year of treatment) and 2017 (second year of treatment), in spring in three dif-ferent points of each plot. Soil sampling was carried out at 0-30 cm depth. The soil nematode extraction was performed by cotton-wood filter method. Nematodes were mounted on temporary slides and identified to genus or family level using taxonomic keys from Mai and Lyon (1962), Bongers (1988), Marinari-Palmisano EQA – Environmental quality / Qualité de l’Environnement / Qualità ambientale, 31 (2018) 41-46  DOI: 10.6092/issn.2281-4485/7892 43 and Vinciguerra (2014). The members of each family were then assigned to a trophic grouping based on Yeates et al. (1993). Nematode communities were ana-lyzed using relative abundance of trophic groups, and the biological soil quality was evaluated by Maturity Index (MI) and Plant Parasitic index (PPI) (Bongers, 1990).   Statistical analysis  One-way ANOVA was performed to assess the influence of management on rela-tive abundance of nematode trophic groups. Two-way ANOVA was carried out to evaluate the impact of management and year on the indicators of nematode com-munity structure. When the F-test was significant at P<0.05, treatment means were compared using Student-Newman-Keuls test using CoStat statistical software package (http://www.Cohort.com/costat.html). The trophic group percentages were arcsine transformed before being statistically analyzed.  Results and discussion  A total of sixteen plant parasitic and free living nematode families were identified. The proportion of nematodes in the feeding groups was similar between sites: bacterial feeders, omnivores and plant parasitic nematodes were the most representative groups, while the abundance of fungal feeders and predators was low (Fig. 2).    Figure 2  Effects of different managements on relative abundance of nematode trophic groups. Samples were collected during 2015 and 2017 (n=3) from DM, dry mulching; GM, green. Standard errors are reported.  Different letters indicate significant differences at P<0.05. b b b b a a a a a S. Landi, G. D’Errico, S. Simoncini, G. L’Abate, S. Priori / EQA, 31 (2018) 41-46  44 Bacterial feeder abundance was influenced by rainfall. As previously observed by Rahman et al. (2009), they represented about 50-60% of the total nematode popula-tion in the drought years, namely 2015 and 2017. Conversely, the lowest bacterial feeder percentages were found in 2016, mainly in non-degraded areas.  The application of restoration techniques in 2016 increased omnivores and the fun-gal feeder activity in both sites. Predators significantly increased under COMP in SD and reached 3% of the total nematode population in 2017.  As reported by several authors, benefits provided by the soil application of organic matter on the suppression of plant parasitic nematodes were found (Rahman et al., 2014; Landi et al., 2016). After the first year under organic treatment plant parasitic nematodes significantly decreased in DM, GM and COMP in SD. The plant parasitic composition also was affected by managements. In both sites, Hoplolaimidae family was dominant before restoring, both in degraded and non-degraded soils and the major pest of grapevines, the virus-vector Xiphinema index (Longidoridae), was reported only in degraded soil. The application of restoration techniques in 2016 increased Tylenchidae family, in particular Tylenchorhynchus genus, in all organic treatments. Concerning X. index, no individuals were found in restored soil with cover crops (DM and GM).  With regard to nematode indicators, MI showed a different trend during the years: significantly lower values were found in drought years (2015 and 2017), indicating the great presence of general opportunistic and food web dominated by decomposer bacteria. COMP significantly improved soil biological quality in FON. Instead, no differences were found for PPI both for managements and years.  MI PPI    Figure 3. Effect of soil nematode indices. TRI, dry mulching; FAV, green manure; COMP, compost, CRTL, degraded area; ND, non-degraded area; MI, maturity index; PPI, plant parasitic index. Standard errors are reported. Different letters indicate significant differences at P<0.05.  Conclusion  Generally, suitability and economics of investigated treatments may vary depending on the regions, crops, and technologies used (Tilman et al., 2002). Indeed, Tardaguile et al. (2018) reported no significant differences in vegetative growth, yield and grape quality among the soil management strategies in degraded EQA – Environmental quality / Qualité de l’Environnement / Qualità ambientale, 31 (2018) 41-46  DOI: 10.6092/issn.2281-4485/7892 45 areas of this study. On the other hand, the environmental and soil health benefits, such as soil fertility and biodiversity, joined with the reduced chemical inputs and soil erosion is higher in the organic system (Pimentel et al., 2005; Mocali et al., 2015; Landi et al., 2017). The effect of different restoration treatments should be evaluated using long-term monitoring data. However, our preliminary data shown that compost application seems to be promising to improve soil biological quality and increase the abundance of predators. Instead, dry mulching and green manure were effective to reduce the X. index population.  Acknowledgments  Work done under the Project ReSolVe (Restoring optimal Soil functionality in degraded area within organic Vineyards), a transnational and multidisciplinary project, supported by Core-Organic+ program.   References  ANDRET-LINK P., SCHMITT-KEICHINGER C., DEMANGEAT G., KOMAR V., FUCHS M. (2004) The specific transmission of Grapevine fanleaf virus by its nematode vector Xiphinema index is solely determined by the viral coat protein. Virology, 320(1):12-22. BONGERS T. (1988). De Nematoden van Nederland. K.N.N.V., Utrecht, The Nederland. BONGERS T. (1990) The maturity index: an ecological measure of environmental disturbance based on nematode species composition. Oecologia, 83:14-19. D’AVINO L., PRIORI S., SCHROERS H.J., TANGOLAR S., TARDAGUILA J., GIFFARD B., FANTAPPIÈ M., COSTANTINI E.A.C. (2018) Restoring soil functionality in degraded areas within vineyards by organic treatments: the experimental layout of the RESOLVE Core-organic+ project. EQA, 30:37-48. LANDI S., PAPINI R., d’ERRICO G., BARZANTI G.P., ROVERSI P.F. (2017). Nematode indicators as integrative measures of soil condition during conversion from conventional to organic rice production in Italy: a case study. Biological Agriculture & Horticulture, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01448765.2017.1399166 LANDI S., PENNACCHIO F., PAPINI R., d’ERRICO G., TORRINI G., STRANGI A., BARABASCHI D., ROVERSI P.F. (2016). Evaluation of sheep grazing effects on nematode community, insect infestation and soil fertility in sweet chestnut orchards: a case of study. Redia, XCIX, 117-126. LANDI S., PAPINI R., d’ERRICO G., BRANDI G., ROCCHINI A., ROVERSI P.F., BAZZOFFI P., MOCALI S. (2018). Effect of different set-aside management systems on soil nematode community and soil fertility in North, Central and South Italy. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 261, 251-260. MAI W.F., LYON H.H. (1962) Pictorial Key to Genera of Plant Parasitic Nematodes. Plates Reproduced by Art Craft of Ithaca, New York. MALOSSINI U., IORIATTI C., MESCALCHIN E., VARNER M., GIACOMETTI R., d’ERRICO F.P. (2008) Nematofauna associated to grapevine in Trentino (Northern Italy). Redia, 91:147-150. MALOSSINI U., d'ERRICO G., VARNER M., d'ERRICO F. P., SOPPELSA O. (2011). The vertical and horizontal distribution of Mesocriconema xenoplax (Raski, 1952) in Trentino vineyards (Northern Italy). Redia, 94, 153-157. S. Landi, G. D’Errico, S. Simoncini, G. L’Abate, S. Priori / EQA, 31 (2018) 41-46  46 MARINARI-PALMISANO A., VINCIGUERRA M. (2014) Classificazione dei nematodi. In: Ambrogioni L., d’Errico F.P., Greco N.A., Marinari-Palmisano A., Roversi P.F. (Eds.), Nematologia Agraria generale e applicata. Società Italiana di Nematologia, Bari, pp. 23-42. MOCALI S., LANDI S., CURTO G., DALLAVALLE E., INFANTINO A., COLZI C., d’ERRICO G., ROVERSI P.F. D’AVINO L., LAZZERI, L. (2015). Resilience of soil microbial and nematode communities after biofumigant treatment with defatted seed meals. Industrial Crops and Products, 75:79-90. PIMENTEL D., HEPPERLY P., HANSON J., DOUDS D., SEIDEL R. (2005) Environmental, energetic, and economic comparisons of organic and conventional farming systems. BioScience, 55(7):573-582. RAHMAN L., WHITELAW-WECKERT M.A., HUTTON R.J., ORCHARD B. (2009) Impact of floor vegetation on the abundance of nematode trophic groups in vineyards. Appl. Soil Ecol., 42:96-106. RAHMAN L., WHITELAW-WECKERT M.A., ORCHRD B. (2014) Impact of organic soil amendments, including poultry-litter biochar, on nematodes in a Riverina, New South Wales, vineyard. Soil research, 52:604-619. TARDAGUILA J., STORCHI P., PUCCIONI S., ZOMBARDO A., TANGOLAR S., TANGOLAR S., ADA M., KIRAZ M.E., GIFFARD B., FUNCHIN E., SCHROERS H.J., PELENGIĆ R., MOREDA E., FERNANDEZ-NOVALES J., COSTANTINI E. (2018) Effects of soil degradation and organic treatments on vegetative growth, yield and grape quality. EQA, 30:31-35. TILMAN D., CASSMAN K.G., MATSON P. A., NAYLOR R., POLASKY S. (2002) Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices. Nature, 418(6898):671. YEATES G.W., BONGERS T., DE GOEDE R., FRECKMAN D., GEORGIEVA S. (1993) Feeding habits in soil nematode families and genera in outline for soil ecologists. J. Nematol., 25:315-6331.  

NEMATODE COOMUNITIES AS INDICATORS OF SOIL QUALITY IN VINEYARD SYSTEM: A CASE OF STUDY IN DEGRADED AREAS

The restoring effect of selective agronomic strategies on optimal soil functionality of degraded areas within organic vineyard was evaluated using the nematode community as an indicator of soil quality.  Three different restoring strategies were implemented in two organic farms located in Tuscany (Italy). The relative abundance of nematode trophic groups and the maturity index showed that the use of compost improved soil biological quality and increased the abundance of predators. Instead, dry mulching and green manure applications were useful to control the most dangerous nematodes of grapevines, namely the virus-vector Xiphinema index (Longidoridae)

Silvia Landi

Giada d'Errico

Stefania Simoncini

Giovanni L'Abate

Simone Priori

Directory of Open Access Journals

EQA – Environmental quality / Qualité de l’Environnement / Qualità ambientale, 31 (2018) 41-46 
 
DOI: 10.6092/issn.2281-4485/7892 
41 
NEMATODE COMMUNITIES AS INDICATORS OF SOIL QUALITY IN 
VINEYARD SYSTEM: A CASE OF STUDY IN DEGRADED AREAS 
 
Silvia Landi 
(1)
*, Giada d’Errico 
(2)
, Stefania Simoncini 
(1)
, 
Giovanni L’Abate 
(3)
, Simone Priori 
(3) 
 
(1)
 CREA-DC, Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification, Florence, Italy 
(2)
 Dipartimento di Agraria, Università degli Studi di Napoli, Federico II, Naple, Italy 
(3)
 CREA-AA, Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Florence, Italy 
 
* Corresponding author email: silvia.landi@crea.gov.it 
 
 
Abstract 
 
The restoring effect of selective agronomic strategies on optimal soil functionality 
of degraded areas within organic vineyard was evaluated using the nematode 
community as an indicator of soil quality.  Three different restoring strategies were 
implemented in two organic farms located in Tuscany (Italy). The relative 
abundance of nematode trophic groups and the maturity index showed that the use 
of compost improved soil biological quality and increased the abundance of 
predators. Instead, dry mulching and green manure applications were useful to 
control the most dangerous nematodes of grapevines, namely the virus-vector 
Xiphinema index (Longidoridae). 
 
Keywords: Free living nematodes, plant parasitic nematodes, dry mulching, green 
manure, compost 
 
Introduction 
 
In Italian vineyards, it is quite common to have areas characterized by problems in 
vine health, grape production and quality, often caused by improper land 
preparation before vine plantation and/or management. Soil malfunctioning can be 
caused by reduced contribution of the soil fauna to the ecosystem services such as 
nutrient cycles and organic matter turnover. At this purpose, biomonitoring and 
abundance evaluation of soil nematode community represent efficient tools to 
characterize the effects of crop management by assessing the biological soil quality 
(Landi et al., 2017; 2018). Soil nematodes play a key role in the soil detritus food 
web, grazing on bacteria and fungi and thus regulating the decomposition of 
organic matter. Few studies are available on the whole nematode community 
associated with vineyard (Malossini et al., 2008; Rhaman et al., 2014). Instead, 
many studies have been conducted on plant parasitic nematodes that cause serious 
damages in grapevine areas (Andret-Link et al., 2004; Malossini et al., 2011). The 
main purpose of the present study was to assess the restoring effect of selective 
agronomic strategies on optimal soil functionality in organic vineyard from 
degraded areas using the nematode community as an indicator of soil quality.  
 
S. Landi, G. D’Errico, S. Simoncini, G. L’Abate, S. Priori / EQA, 31 (2018) 41-46 
 42 
Materials and methods  
 
Field site and treatments description 
 
The vineyards are situated in two commercial farms in Tuscany: i) FON, Fontodi, 
Panzano in Chianti, Firenze and ii) SD, San Disdagio, Civitella Marittima, Grosse-
to. Detail are reported by D’Avino (2018). In each farm, three different restoring 
treatments (DM, dry mulching; GM, green manure; COMP, compost) were com-
pared to a degraded area (CONTR) and a non-degraded area (ND). The different 
restoring strategies implemented in each plot were: i) compost (COMP) produced 
on farm in situ by manure + pruning residue + grass, ii) faba bean (Vicia faba L.) 
and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) green manure (FAV), iii) sowing and dry mulch-
ing with Trifolium squarrosum L. (TRI). Detail about experimental plots and de-
scription of the treatments was reported by D’Avino et al. (this issue). FON climate 
was characterized by a mean annual air temperature of 14.4°C with average maxi-
mum temperatures observed in July-August 2017 (over 40°C). The tree years aver-
age annual precipitation was 700 mm, mostly concentrated in winter for 2015, in 
winter and autumn for 2016, and autumn for 2017 (Fig. 1). Instead, SD farm cli-
mate was characterized by a mean annual air temperature of 15.7°C with average 
maximum temperatures observed in July-August 2015, and 2017 (over 40°C). The 
tree years average annual precipitation was only 584 mm, having been the highest 
rainfall (655 mm) recorded in 2016 mainly from autumn to winter, and the lowest 
(500 mm) in 2017 mainly in autumn (Fig. 1).  
 
FON (Panzano in Chianti) SD (Civitella Marittima) 
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
0
40
80
120
160
200
240
280
Mean T 2015 7,4 16,9 22,4 10,7
Mean T 2016 7,6 16,8 22,4 10,6
Mean T 2017 7,8 17,8 22,5 9,9
Rainfall 2015 217,8 141,8 71,4 181,0
Rainfall 2016 241,6 158,0 71,6 264,0
Rainfall 2017 157,9 135,7 194,7 263,8
Winter Spring Summer Fall
 
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
0
40
80
120
160
200
240
280
Mean T 2015 9,2 18,2 24,3 11,9
Mean T 2016 9,4 17,7 24,0 11,7
Mean T 2017 8,9 18,7 23,7 11,0
Rainfall 2015 153,1 147,9 136,4 160,6
Rainfall 2016 204,8 172,4 91,4 186,0
Rainfall 2017 101,4 123,4 118,0 157,3
Winter Spring Summer Fall
 
 
Figure 1. Mean air temperature and rainfall in FON and SD in 2015, 2016 and 2017. 
 
Soil sampling and soil nematode community analysis 
 
Soil samples were collected in each study area in 2015 (before treatments), 2016 
(first year of treatment) and 2017 (second year of treatment), in spring in three dif-
ferent points of each plot. Soil sampling was carried out at 0-30 cm depth. The soil 
nematode extraction was performed by cotton-wood filter method. Nematodes 
were mounted on temporary slides and identified to genus or family level using 
taxonomic keys from Mai and Lyon (1962), Bongers (1988), Marinari-Palmisano 
EQA – Environmental quality / Qualité de l’Environnement / Qualità ambientale, 31 (2018) 41-46 
 
DOI: 10.6092/issn.2281-4485/7892 
43 
and Vinciguerra (2014). The members of each family were then assigned to a 
trophic grouping based on Yeates et al. (1993). Nematode communities were ana-
lyzed using relative abundance of trophic groups, and the biological soil quality 
was evaluated by Maturity Index (MI) and Plant Parasitic index (PPI) (Bongers, 
1990).  
 
Statistical analysis 
 
One-way ANOVA was performed to assess the influence of management on rela-
tive abundance of nematode trophic groups. Two-way ANOVA was carried out to 
evaluate the impact of management and year on the indicators of nematode com-
munity structure. When the F-test was significant at P<0.05, treatment means were 
compared using Student-Newman-Keuls test using CoStat statistical software 
package (http://www.Cohort.com/costat.html). The trophic group percentages were 
arcsine transformed before being statistically analyzed. 
 
Results and discussion 
 
A total of sixteen plant parasitic and free living nematode families were identified. 
The proportion of nematodes in the feeding groups was similar between sites: 
bacterial feeders, omnivores and plant parasitic nematodes were the most 
representative groups, while the abundance of fungal feeders and predators was 
low (Fig. 2).  
 
 
Figure 2  
Effects of different 
managements on 
relative abundance 
of nematode trophic 
groups. Samples 
were collected 
during 2015 and 
2017 (n=3) from 
DM, dry mulching; 
GM, green. 
Standard errors are 
reported.  
Different letters 
indicate significant 
differences at 
P<0.05. 
b b b 
b 
a 
a 
a a a 
S. Landi, G. D’Errico, S. Simoncini, G. L’Abate, S. Priori / EQA, 31 (2018) 41-46 
 44 
Bacterial feeder abundance was influenced by rainfall. As previously observed by 
Rahman et al. (2009), they represented about 50-60% of the total nematode popula-
tion in the drought years, namely 2015 and 2017. Conversely, the lowest bacterial 
feeder percentages were found in 2016, mainly in non-degraded areas.  
The application of restoration techniques in 2016 increased omnivores and the fun-
gal feeder activity in both sites. Predators significantly increased under COMP in 
SD and reached 3% of the total nematode population in 2017.  
As reported by several authors, benefits provided by the soil application of organic 
matter on the suppression of plant parasitic nematodes were found (Rahman et al., 
2014; Landi et al., 2016). After the first year under organic treatment plant parasitic 
nematodes significantly decreased in DM, GM and COMP in SD. The plant 
parasitic composition also was affected by managements. In both sites, 
Hoplolaimidae family was dominant before restoring, both in degraded and non-
degraded soils and the major pest of grapevines, the virus-vector Xiphinema index 
(Longidoridae), was reported only in degraded soil. The application of restoration 
techniques in 2016 increased Tylenchidae family, in particular Tylenchorhynchus 
genus, in all organic treatments. Concerning X. index, no individuals were found in 
restored soil with cover crops (DM and GM).  
With regard to nematode indicators, MI showed a different trend during the years: 
significantly lower values were found in drought years (2015 and 2017), indicating 
the great presence of general opportunistic and food web dominated by 
decomposer bacteria. COMP significantly improved soil biological quality in FON. 
Instead, no differences were found for PPI both for managements and years. 
 
MI PPI 
  
 
Figure 3. Effect of soil nematode indices. TRI, dry mulching; FAV, green manure; 
COMP, compost, CRTL, degraded area; ND, non-degraded area; MI, maturity index; 
PPI, plant parasitic index. Standard errors are reported. Different letters indicate 
significant differences at P<0.05. 
 
Conclusion 
 
Generally, suitability and economics of investigated treatments may vary 
depending on the regions, crops, and technologies used (Tilman et al., 2002). 
Indeed, Tardaguile et al. (2018) reported no significant differences in vegetative 
growth, yield and grape quality among the soil management strategies in degraded 
EQA – Environmental quality / Qualité de l’Environnement / Qualità ambientale, 31 (2018) 41-46 
 
DOI: 10.6092/issn.2281-4485/7892 
45 
areas of this study. On the other hand, the environmental and soil health benefits, 
such as soil fertility and biodiversity, joined with the reduced chemical inputs and 
soil erosion is higher in the organic system (Pimentel et al., 2005; Mocali et al., 
2015; Landi et al., 2017). The effect of different restoration treatments should be 
evaluated using long-term monitoring data. However, our preliminary data shown 
that compost application seems to be promising to improve soil biological quality 
and increase the abundance of predators. Instead, dry mulching and green manure 
were effective to reduce the X. index population. 
 
Acknowledgments 
 
Work done under the Project ReSolVe (Restoring optimal Soil functionality in 
degraded area within organic Vineyards), a transnational and multidisciplinary 
project, supported by Core-Organic+ program.  
 
References 
 
ANDRET-LINK P., SCHMITT-KEICHINGER C., DEMANGEAT G., KOMAR V., 
FUCHS M. (2004) The specific transmission of Grapevine fanleaf virus by its nematode 
vector Xiphinema index is solely determined by the viral coat protein. Virology, 320(1):12-
22. 
BONGERS T. (1988). De Nematoden van Nederland. K.N.N.V., Utrecht, The Nederland. 
BONGERS T. (1990) The maturity index: an ecological measure of environmental 
disturbance based on nematode species composition. Oecologia, 83:14-19. 
D’AVINO L., PRIORI S., SCHROERS H.J., TANGOLAR S., TARDAGUILA J., 
GIFFARD B., FANTAPPIÈ M., COSTANTINI E.A.C. (2018) Restoring soil functionality 
in degraded areas within vineyards by organic treatments: the experimental layout of the 
RESOLVE Core-organic+ project. EQA, 30:37-48. 
LANDI S., PAPINI R., d’ERRICO G., BARZANTI G.P., ROVERSI P.F. (2017). 
Nematode indicators as integrative measures of soil condition during conversion from 
conventional to organic rice production in Italy: a case study. Biological Agriculture & 
Horticulture, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01448765.2017.1399166 
LANDI S., PENNACCHIO F., PAPINI R., d’ERRICO G., TORRINI G., STRANGI A., 
BARABASCHI D., ROVERSI P.F. (2016). Evaluation of sheep grazing effects on 
nematode community, insect infestation and soil fertility in sweet chestnut orchards: a case 
of study. Redia, XCIX, 117-126. 
LANDI S., PAPINI R., d’ERRICO G., BRANDI G., ROCCHINI A., ROVERSI P.F., 
BAZZOFFI P., MOCALI S. (2018). Effect of different set-aside management systems on 
soil nematode community and soil fertility in North, Central and South Italy. Agriculture, 
Ecosystems & Environment, 261, 251-260. 
MAI W.F., LYON H.H. (1962) Pictorial Key to Genera of Plant Parasitic Nematodes. 
Plates Reproduced by Art Craft of Ithaca, New York. 
MALOSSINI U., IORIATTI C., MESCALCHIN E., VARNER M., GIACOMETTI R., 
d’ERRICO F.P. (2008) Nematofauna associated to grapevine in Trentino (Northern Italy). 
Redia, 91:147-150. 
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NEMATODE COOMUNITIES AS INDICATORS OF SOIL QUALITY IN VINEYARD SYSTEM: A CASE OF STUDY IN DEGRADED AREAS

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