The role of soil characteristics,soil tillage and drip irrigation in the timber production of a wild cherry orchard under Mediterranean conditions |
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| Institution: | 1. Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA), Caldes de Montbui, Barcelona, Spain;2. Escola Superior d''Agricultura de Barcelona, DEAB-Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain;3. Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain;1. Dept Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany;2. Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany;3. Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries, Lleida, Spain;4. Chair of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany;5. CREAF, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain;6. Unidad Mixta de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain;7. Dept Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden;8. Servicio Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Agroalimentario, Asturias, Spain;9. Dept Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden;10. Dept Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden;1. Natural Resources Area, CIRCE Research Institute, University of Zaragoza, María de Luna s/n, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain;2. Cinara Institute – Engineering Faculty, Del Valle Cali University, Colombia;1. Crop Production and Project Engineering Department, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Lugo, University of Santiago de Compostela, Campus Universitario s/n, 27002 Lugo, Spain;2. Geography Department, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Plaza de la Universidad, nº 1 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain;3. European Forest Institute, Yliopistokatu 6, 80100 Joensuu, Finland;4. Forestry School, University of Extremadura, Plasencia, Spain;5. Forest Research Centre, School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, Tapada da Ajuda s/n, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal;6. TEI Stereas Elladas, Dpt. of Forestry & Natural Environment, 36100, Karpenissi, Greece;7. Institute of Agro-Environmental and Forest Biology, National Research Council, Porano, Italy;1. European Forest Institute, Yliopistokatu 6, FI-80100 Joensuu, Finland;2. Forestry Research Group, Universidad de Extremadura, Spain;3. Crop Production Department, Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain;4. Forest Research Centre, School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, 1349-017 Tapada da Ajuda, Lisbon, Portugal;5. Faculty of Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Greece;6. Forestry and Natural Environment Management, TEI Stereas Elladas, 36100 Greece;7. University of Copenhagen, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Rolighedsvej 23, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark;8. Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL, United Kingdom |
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| Abstract: | Over the last decade high-quality timber plantations have increased in Europe because of the constant high market price of timber and economical incentives from the EU. These latter are mainly due to timber plantations’ role in CO2 capture. Noble wood plantations have also been established in Mediterranean areas, but many of them suffer from low growth rates due to deficient plantation management and/or non-optimal environmental conditions. Furthermore, little information exists about soil and water management in these plantations and how different soil characteristics may affect management results. In this study, a trial was established in a pure wild cherry plantation under Mediterranean conditions. The trial evaluated the effects that soil type (low soil quality versus good performance for woody crops), soil management (soil tillage versus no tillage), irrigation regime (drip irrigation versus no irrigation) and their interactions may have on wood production. Soil water content and the spontaneous vegetation that appeared in the alleys of the no-tillage treatments were also measured.The results showed that sandy-clay-loam soil with a water-holding capacity of 101.5 ± 5.2 mm had 65% more wood volume increase during the study period than sandy-loam soil with a water-holding capacity of 37.9 ± 8.0 mm. Conventional tillage or zero tillage with the presence of spontaneous vegetation did not differ significantly in wood volume increment, regardless of the type of soil. Although soil water content was significantly increased by tillage in sandy-loam soil, this effect was not enough to increase tree wood volume. On the other hand, the application of drip irrigation did increase wood production by up to 50%. Therefore, 10 years less on the plantation's rotation length can be anticipated when applying irrigation: from 40 to 30 years (sandy–clay–loam soil) and from 56 to 46 years (sandy-loam soil).In conclusion, deep soil characterization of the site is essential before deciding whether to develop a plantation of this type in areas under soil water content limitations caused by deficient soil structure and texture. In addition, our results show important savings can be made by reducing soil tillage, as less tillage leads to greater ground cover and biodiversity. Further investigations are required to examine how long-lasting the effects are and what other benefits can be expected when this type of plantation is managed in a more sustainable way. |
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| Keywords: | Agroforestry systems Wood production Soil water content Ground cover Spontaneous vegetation |
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