Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 842 |
| Journal | FORESTS |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| Early online date | 25 Jun 2021 |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2021 |
Abstract
Tree planting on abandoned agricultural land could both restore the soil quality and increase the productivity of economically valuable woody species. Here, we assess the impact of mixed-species tree plantations on soil quality at a site in Central Italy where tree intercropping systems were established 20 years ago on a former agricultural land. These intercropping systems include two species of economic interest, Populus alba and Juglans regia, and one of three different nurse trees, i.e., Alnus cordata, Elaeagnus umbellata, both of which are N-fixing species, and Corylus avellana. We measured tree growth and compared how soil organic matter, soil extracellular enzymes, and nematodes of different feeding groups varied among the intercropping systems and relative to a conventional agricultural field. Our results indicate that tree plantation led to an increase in soil carbon and nitrogen, and enhanced enzyme activities, compared with the agricultural land. The proportion of nematode feeding groups was heterogeneous, but predators were absent from the agricultural soil. Multivariate analysis of soil properties, enzymatic activity, nematodes, and tree growth point to the importance of the presence N-fixing species, as the presence of A. cordata was linked to higher soil quality, and E. umbellata to growth of the associated valuable woody species. Our findings indicate that intercropping tree species provide a tool for both restoring fertility and improving soil quality.
Keywords
- Intercropping, Soil ecology, Tree plantations
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Forestry
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In: FORESTS, Vol. 12, No. 7, 842, 07.2021.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Mixed-species plantation effects on soil biological and chemical quality and tree growth of a former agricultural land
AU - Danise, Tiziana
AU - Andriuzzi, Walter S.
AU - Battipaglia, Giovanna
AU - Certini, Giacomo
AU - Guggenberger, Georg
AU - Innangi, Michele
AU - Mastrolonardo, Giovanni
AU - Niccoli, Francesco
AU - Pelleri, Francesco
AU - Fioretto, Antonietta
N1 - Funding Information: We declare that the study protocol complies with relevant institutional, national, and international guidelines and legislation. Furthermore, we declare that we received formal permission from the tree farm owners, the Bini family, to collect Populus alba and Juglans regia tree cores. No voucher specimens have been deposited in a publicly available herbarium as the plants came from a tree nursery and were recognized on field by the same personnel who planted the trees.
PY - 2021/7
Y1 - 2021/7
N2 - Tree planting on abandoned agricultural land could both restore the soil quality and increase the productivity of economically valuable woody species. Here, we assess the impact of mixed-species tree plantations on soil quality at a site in Central Italy where tree intercropping systems were established 20 years ago on a former agricultural land. These intercropping systems include two species of economic interest, Populus alba and Juglans regia, and one of three different nurse trees, i.e., Alnus cordata, Elaeagnus umbellata, both of which are N-fixing species, and Corylus avellana. We measured tree growth and compared how soil organic matter, soil extracellular enzymes, and nematodes of different feeding groups varied among the intercropping systems and relative to a conventional agricultural field. Our results indicate that tree plantation led to an increase in soil carbon and nitrogen, and enhanced enzyme activities, compared with the agricultural land. The proportion of nematode feeding groups was heterogeneous, but predators were absent from the agricultural soil. Multivariate analysis of soil properties, enzymatic activity, nematodes, and tree growth point to the importance of the presence N-fixing species, as the presence of A. cordata was linked to higher soil quality, and E. umbellata to growth of the associated valuable woody species. Our findings indicate that intercropping tree species provide a tool for both restoring fertility and improving soil quality.
AB - Tree planting on abandoned agricultural land could both restore the soil quality and increase the productivity of economically valuable woody species. Here, we assess the impact of mixed-species tree plantations on soil quality at a site in Central Italy where tree intercropping systems were established 20 years ago on a former agricultural land. These intercropping systems include two species of economic interest, Populus alba and Juglans regia, and one of three different nurse trees, i.e., Alnus cordata, Elaeagnus umbellata, both of which are N-fixing species, and Corylus avellana. We measured tree growth and compared how soil organic matter, soil extracellular enzymes, and nematodes of different feeding groups varied among the intercropping systems and relative to a conventional agricultural field. Our results indicate that tree plantation led to an increase in soil carbon and nitrogen, and enhanced enzyme activities, compared with the agricultural land. The proportion of nematode feeding groups was heterogeneous, but predators were absent from the agricultural soil. Multivariate analysis of soil properties, enzymatic activity, nematodes, and tree growth point to the importance of the presence N-fixing species, as the presence of A. cordata was linked to higher soil quality, and E. umbellata to growth of the associated valuable woody species. Our findings indicate that intercropping tree species provide a tool for both restoring fertility and improving soil quality.
KW - Intercropping
KW - Soil ecology
KW - Tree plantations
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85109300990&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/f12070842
DO - 10.3390/f12070842
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85109300990
VL - 12
JO - FORESTS
JF - FORESTS
SN - 1999-4907
IS - 7
M1 - 842
ER -