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Organic viticulture and soil quality: A long-term study in Southern France

Coll, Patrice; Le Cadre, Edith; Blanchart, Eric; Hinsinger, Philippe and Villenave, Cécile (2011) Organic viticulture and soil quality: A long-term study in Southern France. Applied Soil Ecology, 50, pp. 37-44.

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Summary

The rate of conversion of conventional vineyards into organic farming is currently increasing. This results in modifications of agricultural practices such as the application of organic manure, the use of tillage or grass-cutting to control weeds and the application of natural pesticides with preventive action. One of the aims of organic farming is to preserve the environment. In this context, the objective of our work was to evaluate the long-term effects of organic viticulture on soil quality. The study was conducted in a commercial vineyard where plots which had been organically managed for 7 (Organic7), 11 (Organic11) and 17 years (Organic17) were compared to conventionally managed plots (Conventional). Soil physical and chemical parameters (bulk density, organic matter, available phosphorus, potassium and copper contents) and biological parameters (soil microbial biomass, density of nematode trophic groups and density and biomass of earthworm ecological categories) were measured. The organic farming led to an increase in soil organic matter, potassium content, soil microbial biomass, plant-feeding and fungalfeeding nematode densities. However, organic farming increased soil compaction, decreased endogeic earthworm density and did not modify the soil micro-food web evaluated by nematofauna analysis. Our study highlights the difficulty to show the benefits of organic farming on global soil quality in this particular pedoclimatic area and set of farming practices.


EPrint Type:Journal paper
Keywords:Conventional viticulture, Bioindicators, Organic matter, Microbial biomass, Nematodes Earthworms
Subjects: Soil > Soil quality
Soil > Soil quality > Soil biology
Research affiliation: France > Agribio
France > Montpellier SupAgro - Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques
France > INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique
France > Other organizations
ISSN:0929-1393
DOI:10.1016/j.apsoil.2011.07.013
Related Links:https://orgprints.org/18677/, http://www6.inra.fr/viticulture-bio, http://www6.inra.fr/comite_agriculture_biologique/Les-recherches/Par-thematique/Productions-vegetales-et-systemes-de-culture/AIDY#
Deposited By: PENVERN, Servane
ID Code:27942
Deposited On:11 Dec 2014 15:54
Last Modified:11 Dec 2014 15:54
Document Language:English
Status:Published
Refereed:Peer-reviewed and accepted

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