Olive groves rank among the cropping systems facing higher erosion risk in Mediterranean
Europe. The adoption of erosion control soil management practices is key for reducing such risk and
driving olive production towards sustainability. This field experimental study aimed to quantify
the erosion control performance of improved soil management as compared to conventional soil
management in olive groves of NE Portugal. The design aimed to compare the effects of introducing
no-tillage (NT) to a conventionally managed (T) olive grove and those with complementing ground
cover by adventitious species (NS) with a sown cover (S) and comprised four treatments: TNS
(reference for conventional), TS, NTNS and NTS. Erosion microplots (4 m2) were installed (two per
treatment), recording soil loss, runoff and ground cover in seven erosion events throughout one year.
The best erosion control performance was found in NTNS (low-cost improved soil management
treatment) with 50% and 85% reductions in soil loss, respectively, in the annual total and in erosion
events following large precipitation periods. Plots with adventitious vegetation ground cover
performed better in soil loss control than the sown ones. Converting to no-tillage, as compared to
sowing herbaceous vegetation to increase ground cover, proved more performant and less hazardous
for improving erosion control in olive groves.
The authors are grateful for the financial support of the research carried out and of the
publication of this paper, respectively by project “Man4Health—New management strategies in
olive groves for improving soil health and crop yield”, NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000060, and by
CIMO—Centro de Investigação de Montanha, through UIDB/00690/2020 funding. Authors are
also grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for the financial support
through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020)
and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2020). Renecleide Viana dos Santos thanks the national funding by FCT,
the Foundation for Science and Technology, through the individual research grant 2022.13246.BD.
