Evaluation of runoff and soil erosion under conventional tillage and no-till management: A case study in northeast Italy

Carretta, Laura; Tarolli, Paolo; Cardinali, Alessandra; Nasta, Paolo; Romano, Nunzio; Masin, Roberta

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2020.104972

Cited by 65 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…5 mm), and the total precipitation was often below 1-2 mm per day. Compared with other studies conducted in North-Eastern Italy by Carretta et al [26], our experimental plot had a similar average number of rainy days per year (84 in our 6-year experiment vs. 76 across 2 years in [26]) and almost comparable annual rainfall, despite a quite different rainfall distribution pattern. In fact, in the inner part of the Aosta Valley, severe summer storms were more relevant than fall events in terms of intensity and peak intensities (see Table 3).…”

Section: Rainfall Data Soil Erodibility and Erosion Estimatessupporting

confidence: 52%

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Effect of Soil Management on Erosion in Mountain Vineyards (N-W Italy)

Stanchi

Zecca²,

Hudek

et al. 2021

Sustainability

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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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Section: Rainfall Data Soil Erodibility and Erosion Estimatessupporting

confidence: 52%

“…Statistics (descriptive, ANOVA, and GLM: General linear model) were performed using software SPSS-v. 26. ANOVA was used to test differences in soil, erosion rates, and sediment properties among treatments, GLM to investigate the interaction effects between treatments and mechanization.…”

Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Soil Management on Erosion in Mountain Vineyards (N-W Italy)

Stanchi

Zecca²,

Hudek

et al. 2021

Sustainability

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“…Conservation agriculture (CA) is defined as the combination of three principles: minimum soil disturbance, permanent soil organic cover and species diversification [1]. In addition to reduced management costs, CA is considered to enhance several ecosystem services (soil physical and chemical properties, soil organic carbon (SOC) and biodiversity) [2,3] and prevent some soil threats, such as soil erosion [4][5][6]. Although some of these benefits remain less clear, the worldwide adoption of CA grew to 12.5% of 2016 global cropland.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Multivariate Approach to Evaluate Reduced Tillage Systems and Cover Crop Sustainability

Sartori

Piccoli

Polese

et al. 2021

Land

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The evaluation of the effects of conservation agriculture during the transition from conventional tillage to no-tillage requires numerous indicators to be considered. For this purpose, we monitored changes in a multi-parameter dataset during a three-year experiment that combined three tillage intensities (conventional tillage—CT; minimum tillage—MT; and no tillage—NT) with three soil covering managements (tillage radish cover crop, winter wheat cover crop and bare soil). Using a multivariate analysis, we developed a Relative Sustainability Index (RSI) based on 11 physical (e.g., bulk density and penetration resistance), chemical (e.g., soil organic carbon and pH) and biological soil properties (e.g., earthworm density) to evaluate cropping systems sustainability. The RSI was most affected by tillage intensity showing higher RSI values (i.e., better performances) in reduced tillage systems. Specifically, the RSI under NT was 42% greater than that of CT and 13% greater than that of MT. Soil covering had little impact on the RSI. Among the tested parameters, the RSI was increased most by saturated hydraulic conductivity (+193%) and earthworm density (+339%) across CT and NT treatments.to. Our results suggest that conservation agriculture and, particularly, reduced tillage systems, have the potential to increase farm environmental and agronomic sustainability.

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“…The study area is cultivated with maize, soya, and wheat, embracing the conservation agriculture (CA) farming system (Hobbs et al, 2008;Carretta et al, 2021). No-tillage operations were carried out in the field, and the crops are harvested using agricultural machinery.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping potential surface ponding in agriculture using UAV‐SfM

Straffelini

Cucchiaro

Tarolli

2021

Earth Surf Processes Landf

Self Cite

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Among the environmental problems that could affect agriculture, one of the most critical is ponding. This may be defined as water storage on the surface in concavities and depressions due to soil saturation. Stagnant water can seriously affect crops and the management of agricultural landscapes. It is mainly caused by prolonged rainfall events, soil type, or wrong mechanization practices, which cause soil compaction. To better understand this problem and thus provide adequate solutions to reduce the related risk, high-resolution topographic information could be strategically important because it offers an accurate representation of the surface morphology. In the last decades, new remote sensing techniques provide interesting opportunities to understand the processes on the Earth's surface based on geomorphic signatures. Among these, Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), combined with the structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry technique, represent a solid, low-cost, rapid, and flexible solution for geomorphological analysis. This study aims to present a new approach to detect the potential areas exposed to water stagnation at the farm scale. The high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) from UAV-SfM data is used to do this. The potential water depth was calculated in the DEM using the relative elevation attribute algorithm. The detection of more pronounced concavities and convexities allowed an estimation and mapping of the potential ponding conditions. The results were assessed by observations and field measurements and are promising, showing a Cohen's k(X) accuracy of 0.683 for the planimetric extent of the ponding phenomena and a Pearson's r xy coefficient of 0.971 for the estimation of pond water depth. The proposed workflow provides a useful indication to stakeholders for better agricultural management in lowland landscapes.

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Evaluation of runoff and soil erosion under conventional tillage and no-till management: A case study in northeast Italy

Cited by 65 publications

References 57 publications

Effect of Soil Management on Erosion in Mountain Vineyards (N-W Italy)

Effect of Soil Management on Erosion in Mountain Vineyards (N-W Italy)

A Multivariate Approach to Evaluate Reduced Tillage Systems and Cover Crop Sustainability

Mapping potential surface ponding in agriculture using UAV‐SfM

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