ITS primers commonly used to describe soil fungi are flawed for AMF although it is unknown the extent to which they distort the interpretation of community patterns. Here, we focus on how the use of a specific ITS2 fungal barcoding primer pair biased for AMF changes the interpretation of AMF community patterns from three mountain vineyards compared to a novel AMF-specific approach on the 18S. We found that although discrepancies were present in the taxonomic composition of the two resulting datasets, the estimation of diversity patterns among AMF communities was similar and resulted in both primer systems being able to correctly assess the community-structuring effect of location, compartment (root vs. soil) and environment. Both methodologies made it possible to detect the same alpha-diversity trend among the locations under study but not between root and soil transects. We show that the ITS2 primer system for fungal barcoding provides a good estimate of both AMF community structure and relation to environmental variables. However, this primer system does not fit in with cross-compartment surveys (roots vs. soil) as it can underestimate AMF diversity in soil samples. When specifically focusing on AMF, the 18S primer system resulted in wide coverage and marginal non-target amplification.
In the mountain region of Aosta Valley, NW Italy, grapevine were, in the past, traditionally grown on terraces supported by dry stone walls. Since the 1960s, terrace systems were gradually abandoned in favour of an up and down slope row orientation. Tillage and chemical weeding are common soil management techniques adopted in vineyards with high slope gradient, to maintain bare soil. Both techniques expose, to varying degrees, the soil to degradation, favouring runoff and soil losses. Although many studies have focused on the effects of soil water erosion in vineyards, there is still a gap in the evaluation of long‐term soil erosion rates in vineyards located on very steep slopes (higher than 35%). In order to evaluate long‐term soil erosion on a very steep vineyard, a study was carried out on a 44‐year‐old vineyard located at about 900 m asl. The vine rows were oriented up and down the slope, which is about 50% (29°). The inter‐row soil management of the vineyard included chemical weeding and, in the first year after plantation, the adoption of irrigation and hilling‐up/taking‐out the soil around the vines. The soil loss was determined adopting the technique of botanical benchmark. According to this methodology, the estimated total soil lost over 44 years was about 692 Mg ha−1, with average annual soil loss of 15·7 Mg ha−1 year−1, confirming that the water and management practices adopted in the vineyard, besides the high slope gradient, have played a relevant role in determining the high erosion rate. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
We studied the effects of three soil management approaches (permanent grassing, chemical weeding, and buffer strips), and the additional impact of tractor passage on soil erosion in a sloping vineyard located in the inner part of Aosta Valley (N-W Italian Alps). The vineyard rows were equipped with a sediment collection system with channels and barrel tanks. A total of 12 events with sediment production were observed across 6 years, and the collected sediments were weighted and analyzed. Average erosion rates ranged from negligible (mainly in grassed rows) to 1.1 t ha−1 per event (after weeding). The most erosive event occurred in July 2015, with a total rainfall of 32.2 mm, of which 20.1 were recorded in 1 h. Despite the limited number of erosive events observed, and the low measured erosion rates, permanent grassing reduced soil erosion considerably with respect to weeding; buffering had a comparable effect to grassing. The tractor passage, independent of the soil management approaches adopted, visibly accelerated the erosion process. The collected sediments were highly enriched in organic C, total N, and fine size fractions, indicating a potential loss of fertility over time. Despite the measured erosion rates being low over the experiment’s duration, more severe events are well documented in the recent past, and the number of intense storms is likely to increase due to climate change. Thus, the potential effects of erosion in the medium and long term need to be limited to a minimum rate of soil loss. Our experiment helped to compare soil losses by erosion under different soil management practices, including permanent grassing, i.e., a nature-based erosion mitigation measure. The results of the research can provide useful indications for planners and practitioners in similar regions, for sustainable, cross-sectoral soil management, and the enhancement of soil ecosystem services.
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