RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Effect of the implementation of alley crops on the soil physical properties of a mandarin crop with regulated irrigation deficit, in the Mediterranean region
A1 Soto Gómez, Diego
A1 Fernández Hernández, Juan A.
A1 Acosta, Jose A.
A1 Martínez-Martínez, Silvia
A1 Contreras, Josefina
A1 Almagro, María
A1 Martínez-Mena, María
A1 Boix-Fayos, Carolina
A1 Díaz-Pereira, Elvira
A1 Temnani, Abdelmalek
A1 Berrios, Pablo
A1 Pérez-Pastor, Alejandro
A1 Sánchez-Navarro, Virginia
K1 Intercropping
K1 Irrigation deficit
K1 Physicochemical properties
K1 Crop yield
K1 Mandarin orchard
K1 Semiarid climate
K1 Agrosilvicultura
K1 Agroforestry
K1 Física de suelos
K1 Soil physics
AB In the Mediterranean region, orchard aisles usually remain bare throughout the year, which causes soil degradation and erosion. Alley cropping could be a suitable strategy to improve soil physical quality while increasing land productivity. The aim of this study was to assess if alley cropping in a mandarin orchard can affect water content at field capacity, wilting point, available water, aggregates stability, bulk density, and saturated hydraulic conductivity and if there is a relationship between these and crop production and quality. For this, three different treatments were applied: i) a mandarin monoculture (MM); ii) a mandarin crop diversified with a multiple cropping of vetch/barley and fava bean (AC1), with regulated deficit irrigation (RDI); and iii) a mandarin crop diversified with a rotation of fava bean, purslane and cowpea, with RDI (AC2). After three crop cycles, we found an increase in the amount of available water in all treatments, being slightly higher in AC2. The mean weight diameter of soil aggregates was reduced in all treatments, especially in AC1 (> 45 %). Saturated hydraulic conductivity increased in all treatments, especially in MM. In addition, we observed an increase in moisture at field capacity and available water results in larger mandarins, with a lower proportion of soluble solids. Thus, the establishment of alley crops did not lead to a better evolution of the soil physical properties in the short-term. However, the effect of diversification systems on the soil physical properties would be appreciated with the establishment of the mandarin crop diversified with cover crops or perennial crops in a long-term period.
PB Elsevier
SN 0167-8809
YR 2026
FD 2026-02
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11707
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11707
LA eng
NO This work was supported by the European Commission Horizon 2020 project Diverfarming [Grant agreement 728003]. Diego Soto-Gómez was supported by the Margarita Salas postdoctoral fellowship funded by the Spanish Ministry of Universities.
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos
RD 28-may-2026