ABSTRACT Conservation Agriculture approach could be strategic for Soil Quality (SQ) conservation under the Mediterranean conditions of Southern Europe’s environments. In this study, we reported the results obtained during a 2-year field experiment (split-plot design) of a 7-year experiment started in 2010–2011, combining two tillage practices (Conventional Tillage (CT) and Zero Tillage (ZT)) with two crop sequences (Wheat monocropping (WW) and Wheat-Faba bean (WF)). SQ was monitored through the selection of some chemical, physical, and biological indicators measured by both visual – Visual Soil Assessment (VSA) – and standard field or laboratory measurements. ZT produced higher values for some VSA indicators, i.e., ‘soil structure and consistence’ and ‘earthworms counts’, as well as for soil organic carbon content (0.84 vs. 0.75% in ZT and CT, respectively). CT+WW and CT+WF treatments released significantly higher CO2 fluxes of 35% and 41% than ZT+WW and ZT+WF, respectively. No clear effect of soil tillage practices on community-level physiological profiles was observed; conversely, WF induced higher values of well-color development, richness (R), and Shannon–Weaver index (H) than WW. Under dry Mediterranean areas, ZT practices, especially when combined with the other conservation principles (i.e., crop rotation), seem to ameliorate several SQ indicators already after 7-year period of adoption, allowing a positive trend for soil preservation.

中文翻译：

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保护性农业实践对土壤质量指标的影响：地中海地区小麦种植系统的案例研究

摘要 在南欧环境的地中海条件下，保护性农业方法对土壤质量 (SQ) 保护具有战略意义。在这项研究中，我们报告了在 2010-2011 年开始的 7 年试验的 2 年田间试验（裂区设计）中获得的结果，结合两种耕作做法（常规耕作 (CT) 和零耕 (ZT)） ) 具有两种作物序列（小麦单作 (WW) 和小麦蚕豆 (WF)）。通过选择一些化学、物理和生物指标来监测 SQ，这些指标通过视觉 – 视觉土壤评估 (VSA) – 和标准现场或实验室测量进行测量。ZT 为某些 VSA 指标（即“土壤结构和稠度”和“蚯蚓计数”）以及土壤有机碳含量（ZT 和 CT 中的 0.84% vs. 0.75%，分别）。CT+WW 和 CT+WF 处理释放的 CO2 通量分别显着高于 ZT+WW 和 ZT+WF，分别为 35% 和 41%。没有观察到土壤耕作方式对社区水平生理特征的明显影响；相反，与 WW 相比，WF 诱导了更高的颜色发展、丰富度 (R) 和香农-韦弗指数 (H) 值。在地中海干旱地区，ZT 实践，特别是与其他保护原则（即轮作）结合时，似乎在采用 7 年之后已经改善了几个 SQ 指标，从而使土壤保持呈积极趋势。WF 诱导的颜色发展、丰富度 (R) 和香农-韦弗指数 (H) 值高于 WW。在地中海干旱地区，ZT 实践，特别是与其他保护原则（即轮作）结合时，似乎在采用 7 年之后已经改善了几个 SQ 指标，从而使土壤保持呈积极趋势。WF 诱导的颜色发展、丰富度 (R) 和香农-韦弗指数 (H) 值高于 WW。在地中海干旱地区，ZT 实践，特别是与其他保护原则（即轮作）结合时，似乎在采用 7 年之后已经改善了几个 SQ 指标，从而使土壤保持呈积极趋势。