Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T18:11:02.377Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The influence of a shift from conventional to organic olive farming on soil management and erosion risk in southern Spain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2007

Jessica Milgroom ,
María Auxiliadora Soriano ,
José M. Garrido ,
José A. Gómez  and
Elías Fereres
Jessica Milgroom
Affiliation:
Institute of Sustainable Agriculture, CSIC, Córdoba, Spain.
María Auxiliadora Soriano
Affiliation:
Department of Agronomy, University of Cordoba, Córdoba, Spain.
José M. Garrido
Affiliation:
Andalusian Committee for Organic Agriculture (CAAE), Sevilla, Spain.
José A. Gómez
Affiliation:
Institute of Sustainable Agriculture, CSIC, Córdoba, Spain.
Elías Fereres*
Affiliation:
Institute of Sustainable Agriculture, CSIC, Córdoba, Spain. Department of Agronomy, University of Cordoba, Córdoba, Spain.
*
*Corresponding author: ag1fecae@uco.es
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Natural resource conservation should be fundamental to organic agriculture, including the prevention of soil erosion. Soil erosion in the olive orchards of southern Spain is recognized as a serious problem causing environmental, economic and social repercussions, both on and off-site. This study describes the changes in soil management practices that accompanied a shift from conventional to organic olive farming and the corresponding effect of those management practices on erosion risk in the province of Córdoba, Andalusia. Interviews with 107 farmers were carried out in two different geographic areas to assess the socio-economic factors influencing farm management decision-making, and on-farm erosion risk evaluations and soil data (organic matter, aggregate stability, infiltration and vegetative ground cover) were taken on 25 farms to assess the effects of those decisions on soil erosion risk. Results from this study show that the shift to organic farming in olive orchards in the province of Córdoba has been accompanied by increased protection of the soil and lowered erosion risk. The most important changes in soil management practices associated with the transition from conventional to organic agriculture were the reduction in tillage and the increase in management systems that incorporate a vegetative cover controlled either by grazing livestock or mowing. However, the shift to organic farming has had more impact in the south of the province than in the north where farm management systems have historically led to less erosion.

Keywords

organic farmingerosionsoil managementsocio-economic influences
Type
Research Article
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , March 2007 , pp. 1 - 10
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 El-Hage Scialabba, N. and Hattam, C. (eds)2002. Organic Agriculture, Environment and Food Security. FAO, Rome.Google Scholar
2 Zalidis, G., Stamatiadis, S., Takavakoglou, V., Eskridge, K., and Misopolinos, N. 2002. Impacts of agricultural practices on soil and water quality in the Mediterranean region and proposed assessment methodology. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 88(2):137–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3 Stanners, D. and Bourdeau, P. (eds)1995. Europe's Environment: The Dobris Assessment. European Environment Agency, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxemburg.Google Scholar
4 Consejería de Agricultura y Pesca (ed.). 2003. El olivar andaluz. Servicio de Publicaciones y Divulgación, Junta de Andalucía, Sevilla, Spain.Google Scholar
5 Gómez, J.A., Battany, M., Renschler, C.S., and Fereres, E. 2003. Evaluating the impact of soil management on soil loss in olive orchards. Soil Use and Management 19:127–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6 Schoorl, J.M. and Veldkamp, A. 2001. Linking land use and landscape process modelling: a case study for the Alora region (south Spain). Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 85(1–3):281–292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7 van Wesemael, B., Cammeraat, E., Mulligan, M., and Burke, S. 2003. The impact of soil properties and topography on drought vulnerability of rainfed cropping systems in southern Spain. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 94:1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8 de Graaff, J. and Eppink, L.A.A.J. 1999. Olive oil production and soil conservation in southern Spain, in relation to EU subsidy policies. Land Use Policy 16:259–267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9 Alonso Mielgo, A.M., Sevilla Guzmán, E., Romera Jiménez, M., and Guzmán Casado, G. 2001. Rural development and ecological management of endogenous resources: the case of mountain olive groves in Los Pedroches comarca (Spain). Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning 3:163–175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10 Siegrist, S., Schaub, D., Pfiffner, L., and Mader, P. 1998. Does organic agriculture reduce soil erodibility? The results of a long-term field study on loss in Switzerland. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 69(3):253–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11 Holland, J.M. 2004. The environmental consequences of adopting conservation tillage in Europe: reviewing the evidence. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 103:1–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12 Sánchez, J.L. 2003. Evaluación de sustentabilidad de sistemas de manejo de olivares ecológicos y convencionales en Los Pedroches. Asociación Comité Andaluz de Agricultura Ecológica (CAAE), Sevilla, Spain.Google Scholar
13 Morgan, R.P.C. 1995. Soil Erosion and Conservation, 2nd ed. Longman Scientific and Technical, Harlow, Essex, UK.Google Scholar
14 Lal, R. 2001. Soil degradation by erosion. Land Degradation and Development 12:519–539.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15 Lado, M., Paz, A., and Ben-Hur, M. 2004. Organic matter and aggregate size interactions in infiltration, seal formation, and soil loss. Soil Science Society of America Journal 68:935–942.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16 Rawls, W.J. and Brakensiek, D.L. 1989. Estimation of soil water retention and hydraulic properties. In Morel-Seytoux, H.J. (ed.). Unsaturated Flow in Hydrology: Theory and Practice. Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. p. 275–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17 Consejería de Agricultura y Pesca (ed.). 2003. El plan Andaluz de la agricultura ecológica. Servicio de Publicaciones y Divulgación, Junta de Andalucía, Sevilla, Spain.Google Scholar
18 Soil Survey Staff. 1999. Soil Taxonomy: A Basic System of Soil Classification for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys. 2nd ed. Agricultural Handbook 436, SoTI Conservation Service (SCS), USDA, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
19 CSIC/IRNAS. 2000. SEIS.net: Sistema Español de Información de Suelos sobre Internet. Available at Web site http://leu.irnase.csic.es/mimam/seisnet.htm (verified 25 February 2005).Google Scholar
20 Herweg, K. 1996. A field manual for assessment of current erosion damage. Soil Conservation Research Programme, Ethiopia and Centre for Development and Environment, University of Berne, Switzerland.Google Scholar
21 Nelson, D.W. and Sommers, L.E. 1982. Total carbon, organic carbon and organic matter. In Page, A.L., Miller, R.H., and Keeney, D.R. (eds) Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 2. ASA and SSSA, Madison, WI. p. 539–579.Google Scholar
22 Rhoades, J.D. 1982. Cation exchange capacity. In Page, A.L., Miller, R.H., and Keeney (, D.R.eds. Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 2. ASA and SSSA, Madison, WI. p. 149–157.Google Scholar
23 Bouyoucos, G.J. 1962. Hydrometer method used for making particle size analyses of soils. Agronomy Journal 54:464–465.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24 USDA. 1999. The Soil Quality Test Kit Guide. USDA-NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service), Washington, DC. Available at Web site http://soils.usda.gov/sqi/soil_quality/assessment/kit2.html (verified 25 February 2005).Google Scholar
25 De Ploey, J. 1989. Erosional systems: a perspective for erosion control in European loess areas. Soil Technology Series 1:93–102.Google Scholar
26 Castro Nieto, G. 2004. La cubierta vegetal en el olivar: determinación experimental del uso de agua y de su influencia sobre los procesos de infiltración, escorrentía y erosión. Trabajo Profesional Fin de Carrera, University of Cordoba, Córdoba, Spain.Google Scholar
27 Pastor, M. 1990. Non-tillage and other methods of reduced tillage in olive cultivation. Olivae 34:18–30.Google Scholar
28 Ogunlana, E.A. 2004. The technology adoption behaviour of women farmers: the case of alley farming in Nigeria. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 19(1):57–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
29 Cramb, R.A. and Nelson, R.A. 1998. Investigating constraints to the adoption of recommended soil conservation technology in the Philippines. In Penning de Vries, F.W.T., Agus, F., and Kerr, J. (eds). Soil Erosion at Multiple Scales: Principles and Methods for Assessing Causes and Impacts. CAB International, Wallingford, UK. p. 99–120.Google Scholar
30 Rawal, T. 1981. An analysis of factors affecting the adoption of modern varieties in Nepal. Research Paper Series. 11. Agricultural Projects Service Center, Nepal.Google Scholar
31 Feder, G.R., Just, R.E., and Zilberman, D. 1985. Adoption of agricultural innovations in developing countries: a survey. Economic Development and Cultural Change 33(2):255–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
32 Gómez, J.A., Romero, P., Giráldez, J.V., and Fereres, E. 2004. Experimental assessment of runoff and soil erosion in an olive grove on a Vertic soil in southern Spain as affected by soil management. Soil Use and Management 20:426–431.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
33 Gómez, J.A., Orgaz, F., Villalobos, F.J., and Fereres, E. 2002. Analysis of effects of soil management on runoff generation in olive orchards using a physically based model. Soil Use and Management 18:191–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
34 Francia, J.R., Martínez Raya, A., and Ruíz Gutiérrez, S. 2000. Erosión en suelos de olivar en fuertes pendientes: comportamientos de distintos manejos de suelo. Edafología 7:147–155.Google Scholar
35 Schjonning, P., Elmholt, S., Munkholm, L.J., and Debosz, K. 2002. Soil quality aspects of humid sandy loams as influenced by organic and conventional long-term management. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 88:195–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
36 Tan, C.S., Drury, C.F., Reynolds, W.D., Gaynor, J.D., Zhang, T.Q., and Ng, H.Y. 2002. Effect of long-term conventional tillage and no-tillage systems on soil and water quality at the field scale. Water Science and Technology 46(6–7):183–190.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
37 Hussain, I., Olson, K.R., and Siemens, J.C. 1998. Long-term tillage effects on physical properties of eroded soil. Soil Science 163:970–981.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
38 Ferreras, L.A., Costa, J.L., García, F.O., and Pecorari, C. 2000. Effect of no-tillage on some soil physical properties of a structural degraded Petrocalcic Paleudoll of the southern ‘Pampa’ of Argentina. Soil and Tillage Research 54:31–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
39 Raper, R.L., Reeves, D.W., Burmester, C.H., and Schwab, E.B. 2000. Tillage depth, tillage timing, and cover crop effects on cotton yield, soil strength, and tillage energy. Applied Engineering in Agriculture 16:379–385.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
40 Renard, K.G., Foster, G.R., Weesies, G.A., McCool, D.K., and Yoder, D.C. 1997. Predicting Soil Erosion by Water: A Guide to Conservation Planning with The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). Agricultural Handbook 703, Agricultural Research Service (ARS), USDA, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
41 ICONA. 1977. Mapas de estados erosivos: cuenca hidrográfica del Guadalquivir. Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, Madrid, Spain.Google Scholar