Effects of Soil Management on Long-Term Runoff and Soil Erosion Rates in Sloping Vineyards

Runoff and soil losses caused by natural rainfall events were monitored over a 12-year period in an experimental vineyard located in Alto Monferrato, a vine-growing area of Piedmont (NW Italy). The measurements were carried out on three plots, each of which was managed with a different inter-row soil management practice: conventional tillage (CT), reduced tillage (RT) and controlled grass cover (GC), respectively. The annual average runoff coefficients were 17.4 % in CT and 15.3 % in RT, while in the GC plot it was limited to 10.3 %. The highest soil losses were observed for the tilled plots, with average yearly erosion rates of 10.4 and 24.8 Mg ha(-1)year(-1) in the CT and RT plots. Only 2.3 Mg ha(-1)year(-1) were recorded for GC treatment. The protective role of grass cover will be more and more relevant, taking in account climate changes that predict increase in rainfall intensity and erosivity. The evaluation of the effect of different conservation measures on the runoff and soil erosion, in relation with future climate scenarios, would be a useful to support soil management decisions in vineyards.