Experimental assessment of runoff and soil erosion in an olive grove on a Vertic soil in southern Spain as affected by soil management

Three different management systems were compared in an olive grove on a Vertic soil, near the city of Cordoba, Spain. Rainfall, runoff and soil loss were recorded from experimental plots of 6×12 m for three years. Results indicated that the no-tillage system, which was kept weed-free with herbicides, gave the largest soil loss (8.5 t ha−1 yr−1) and average annual runoff coefficient (21.5%), due to increased soil compaction, particularly outside the canopy projection area. A system that used a grass cover gave the lowest soil losses (1.2 t ha−1 yr−1) and average annual runoff coefficient (2.5%) due to the protective effects of the cover and increased soil aggregate stability. The third system, conventional tillage, gave intermediate results, with a soil loss of 4.0 t ha−1 yr−1 and an average runoff coefficient of 7.4%. The search for alternative soil management to conventional tillage should consider occasional light tillage to establish a grass cover that would keep both soil erosion and runoff losses to a minimum.