Abstract
The physical, chemical and biological properties of soil may be modified by tillage, fertilization and cover crops. However there is little knowledge on long-term effects on soil properties, notably under Mediterranean climate. Moreover, biological indicators such as micro-arthropods can be used for a cost-effective analysis of soil biodiversity. Here, we studied physical and biological properties of a sandy loam soil in central Italy under a 4-year rotation of maize–durum wheat–cover crop–sunflower–durum wheat–cover crop during 15 years. We analysed the effects of two tillage systems, conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT); two N fertilization rates, without N and medium N level; and three soil covers: cash crop residue as control, Brassica juncea and Vicia villosa. Results show that no tillage increased soil organic matter content in the upper 10-cm layer (3.31%) compared to the conventional tillage (2.19%). No tillage also improved structure stability and lowered bulk density in the same soil profile. No-tillage systems showed higher soil microbial biomass (+71%) and respiration (+44%), and a higher abundance and diversity of micro-arthropods. We conclude that no tillage is an effective measure to improve the physical and biological quality of soil in Mediterranean conditions. No-tillage positive effect can be enhanced by the right choice of N fertilization and cover crop cultivation. Bio-indicators such as micro-arthropods can be very predictive of soil habitability by organisms.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the field staff of CIRAA for their assistance in the soil sampling, together with Giulia Carpi, Sabrina Ciampa and Nathaly Castro Rodas for their technical assistance in the laboratory analysis.
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Sapkota, T.B., Mazzoncini, M., Bàrberi, P. et al. Fifteen years of no till increase soil organic matter, microbial biomass and arthropod diversity in cover crop-based arable cropping systems. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 32, 853–863 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-011-0079-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-011-0079-0