Sustained tillage and continual applications of phytopharmaceutical and fertilizers using heavy machineries frequently give rise to soil erosion, loss of soil organic matter (SOM) and contamination phenomena in Mediterranean vineyards. Because of their distinctive properties, applying natural zeolites to vineyard soils can conceivably affect the efficient use of fertilizers and reduce nutrient leaching losses. This work assesses the impact of zeolite amendment at differing rates (0, 5 and 10 t/ha) on the chemical and biochemical soil properties of three vineyard soils after 6 months from initial treatments. In particular, chemical properties usually related to soil fertility were evaluated along with more sensitive indicators of soil functionality and indicators of chemical–structural characteristics of SOM. The vineyard soils amended with zeolite showed higher nutrient availability and dehydrogenase activity if compared with the control soils. In addition, even though total organic carbon (TOC) content was unchanged, a decrease in humic substances was observed in the zeolite-treated soils. These results suggested that the stimulation of soil microbial processes by adding zeolite triggered a microbial mineralization process of soil organic carbon stocks. In addition, the modification in the chemical–structural composition of soil organic matter in zeolite-treated soils was shown by the pyrolysis–gas chromatography (Py-GC) results. Py-CG of soil organic matter clearly demonstrated an increase in the labile aliphatic compound furfural and a decline in the more stable aromatic pyrolytic fragments in zeolite-treated soils in contrast with the control soils, thus indicating the higher extent of decomposition of the SOM more stable pool.

中文翻译：

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天然沸石对葡萄园土壤化学和生化性质的影响

使用重型机械持续耕作和持续施用植物药物和肥料经常会导致地中海葡萄园的土壤侵蚀、土壤有机质 (SOM) 流失和污染现象。由于其独特的特性，将天然沸石应用于葡萄园土壤可以想象地影响肥料的有效利用并减少养分浸出损失。这项工作评估了不同比例（0、5 和 10 吨/公顷）的沸石改良剂对初始处理 6 个月后三个葡萄园土壤的化学和生化土壤性质的影响。特别是，通常与土壤肥力相关的化学性质与更敏感的土壤功能指标和 SOM 的化学结构特征指标一起进行了评估。与对照土壤相比，用沸石改良的葡萄园土壤显示出更高的养分利用率和脱氢酶活性。此外，尽管总有机碳 (TOC) 含量没有变化，但在沸石处理的土壤中观察到腐殖质减少。这些结果表明，通过添加沸石对土壤微生物过程的刺激引发了土壤有机碳储量的微生物矿化过程。此外，沸石处理的土壤中土壤有机质的化学结构组成的变化通过热解-气相色谱 (Py-GC) 结果显示。