Going Beyond Soil Conservation with the Use of Cover Crops in Mediterranean Sloping Olive Orchards

Among the agricultural practices promoted by Common Agricultural Policy to increase soil functions, use of cover crops is a recommended tool improve sustainability Mediterranean woody such as olive orchards. However, there broad range crop typologies in relation its implementation, control and species composition. In that sense, influence different plant on quality indicators orchards remains unknown yet. This study describes effects four treatments based implementation ground covers (CC-GRA: sown with gramineous, CC-MIX: mixture CC-NAT: spontaneous vegetation) conventional tillage (TILL) erosion, physicochemical biological properties after 8 years establishment. Our results demonstrated presence temporary (CC), compared under (TILL), can reduce losses maintain good modify greatly structure diversity bacterial communities functioning. The homogeneous CC gramineous (Lolium rigidum or Lolilum multiflorum) (CC-GR) for increased functional TILL; although most relevant change was modification community composition clearly from rest treatments. On other hand, (CC-MIX) only two did not TILL soil, induced significant changes reverted those level similar an undisturbed had maintained natural vegetation decades (CC-NAT).