Vineyards’ soils are especially threatened by the risk of soil compaction and soil erosion, with negative consequences for wine production and provisioning of ecosystem services. The adopted inter-rows soil management influences the response of vineyard to different types of rainfall events, in terms of runoff and soil erosion. Actually, the use of cover crops in vineyards is widely considered as an effective measure for conservation of water and soil. A 3-years study was carried out in Piedmont (NW Italy) to evaluate the effectiveness of grass cover as a soil water conservation measure, compared with tillage, and particularly the influence of different types of rainfall events and tractor traffic in determining hydrological and erosive response of the vineyard. During the investigation period (November 2016 - December 2019), climate variables, runoff, and soil losses were continuously monitored along with vineyard management operations. Very different yearly precipitation characterized the observed period, including the driest and wettest year in the last 20 years. Runoff and soil erosion caused by different types of rainfall events (long-lasting, intense and normal) in two vineyard’s plots managed with permanent grass cover and tillage, respectively, have been compared. In addition, the influence of the number of tractor traffic was taken into account. Runoff volume was principally affected by soil management, while sediment yield was influenced by the type of event. Both were higher in the tilled plot than in the grassed one, for all types of events, even if differences were not always significant. Grass cover reduced by 65% the runoff, with the highest efficiency during intense events. Soil losses were reduced on average by 72%, with 74% efficiency during the most erosive intense events and the lowest protection (56%) during long-lasting rainfall. Moreover, the response of grass cover plot was less influenced by traffication. The study demonstrates the efficiency of grass cover in reducing water and soil losses also during extreme events, that are predicted to be more frequent in the climate change scenario.

葡萄园的土壤尤其受到土壤压实和土壤侵蚀的威胁，对葡萄酒生产和生态系统服务的提供产生负面影响。行间土壤管理在径流和土壤侵蚀方面影响了葡萄园对不同类型降雨事件的响应。实际上，在葡萄园中使用覆盖作物被广泛认为是保护水和土壤的有效措施。在皮埃蒙特（意大利西北部）进行了为期3年的研究，以评估与耕作相比，草皮覆盖作为土壤节水措施的有效性，特别是不同类型的降雨事件和拖拉机交通对确定水文和侵蚀性的影响葡萄园的回应。在调查期间（2016年11月至2019年12月），气候变量，径流和土壤流失以及葡萄园管理操作都得到了持续监控。观测期间的年降水量差异很大，包括最近20年中最干燥和最湿润的年份。比较了两个分别以永久性草覆盖和耕作方式管理的葡萄园地块中，不同类型的降雨事件（长期，强烈和正常）引起的径流和土壤侵蚀。此外，还考虑了拖拉机交通数量的影响。径流量主要受土壤管理的影响，而泥沙产量受事件类型的影响。就所有类型的事件而言，即使差异并不总是很显着，但在耕作地块中二者均高于耕种地块。草皮径流减少了65％，在激烈的事件中效率最高。在最强烈的侵蚀性事件中，土壤流失平均减少了72％，效率为74％，而在持续降雨期间，土壤保护的效率最低（56％）。此外，草地覆盖区的响应受交通影响较小。该研究表明，即使在极端事件下，草皮在减少水土流失方面的效率也很高，预计在气候变化情况下这种情况会更加频繁。