Abstract
Purpose
Alley cropping systems introduce herbaceous strips planted with trees into cropped fields. While such systems may have a positive effect on soil fertility, the respective roles of the trees and the herbaceous vegetation in shaping this effect remain unclear. We investigated the effect of the distance from herbaceous strips with or without walnut trees on soil fertility and earthworm communities in a 20 year old Mediterranean plot intercropped with tomatoes.
Methods
We determined the effects of i) the presence of trees, ii) the distance from the herbaceous strip (0 m, 1 m and 2.5 m) and iii) the distance from the tree on microbial biomass and respiration, earthworm density and soil C, N and P contents in the 0–25 cm layer at three sampling seasons.
Results
Herbaceous strips presented a higher microbial biomass C related to soil organic carbon, a lower microbial metabolic quotient, and a higher density of earthworms than the crop alley regardless of tree presence. Soil organic carbon content increased in the presence of trees. Available P and microbial biomass increased at 1 m from the tree in the HS. Earthworm density and microbial biomass were higher at 1 m than at 2.5 m from the HS.
Conclusions
Herbaceous strips were an effective shelter for earthworms and fostered a high and efficient microbial biomass throughout the year, with or without trees, probably due to diversified vegetation and no soil disturbance. The mechanisms by which these changes could impact the crop alley remain to be studied.
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Acknowledgements
We want to thank members of the Eco&Sols research unit and of the University of Avignon who helped with the field work. We especially thank Maé Podechard, Ninon Claude, Carlos Trives, Jean-Marc Souquet, Romain Domingo and Nancy Rakotondrazafy for participating or supervising the field and laboratory work. We thank Mickaël Hedde and three anonymous reviewers for their useful comments on the first manuscript, and the Fondation de France for funding the research. Finally, we are grateful to Denis and Virginie Florès for the access to their farm.
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The dataset analyzed during the current study is added as online resources 2 (ESM 2).
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Statistical analyses were performed with R statistical software, version 3.6.2. The script is available on request.
Funding
The French foundation “La Fondation de France” funded this research with the ARBRATATOUILLE 2 project, and also funded the associated PhD thesis of Camille D’Hervilly.
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Camille Béral was responsible for the implementation and management of the experimental plot studied. All authors contributed to the sampling design and sampling. Earthworms were identified by Yvan Capowiez, soil analyses were performed by Camille D’Hervilly and Léa Delapré-Cosset. Statistical analyses were performed by Camille D’Hervilly and discussed by all authors. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Camille D’Hervilly, and all authors commented on subsequent versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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D’Hervilly, C., Marsden, C., Capowiez, Y. et al. Trees and herbaceous vegetation strips both contribute to changes in soil fertility and soil organism communities in an agroforestry system. Plant Soil 463, 537–553 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-04932-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-04932-x