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

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 fungal-feeding 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 pecloclimatic area and set of farming practices.