... 2) can be printed and auto-matically saved to another (graphic)file labeled with the (ASCII)r... more ... 2) can be printed and auto-matically saved to another (graphic)file labeled with the (ASCII)record name followed by the DWG exten ... Precision achieved and varia-tions dependent on different op-erators: Since 33 variables are ana-lyzed, the ANOVA of the single vari-ables are ...
This multidisciplinary research work evaluated the effects of soil erosion on grape yield and qua... more This multidisciplinary research work evaluated the effects of soil erosion on grape yield and quality and on different soil functions, namely water and nutrient supply, carbon sequestration, organic matter recycling, and soil biodiversity, with the aim to understand the causes of soil malfunctioning and work out a proper strategy of soil remediation. Degraded areas in nineteen organically farmed European and Turkish vineyards resulted in producing significantly lower amounts of grapes and excessive concentrations of sugar. Plants suffered from decreased water nutrition, due to shallower rooting depth, compaction, and reduced available water capacity, lower chemical fertility, as total nitrogen and cation exchange capacity, and higher concentration of carbonates. Carbon storage and organic matter recycling were also depressed. The general trend of soil enzyme activity mainly followed organic matter stock. Specific enzymatic activities suggested that in degraded soils, alongside a gen...
Abstract The field application of pelletized biochar is seldom employed and its effect on soil hy... more Abstract The field application of pelletized biochar is seldom employed and its effect on soil hydrological behavior scarcely investigated. Biochar is usually added in powdered or granular form to improve the homogeneity of distribution, meanwhile favoring its interaction with soil matrix. In this paper we evaluated the possibility of applying pelletized biochar as soil conditioner during a single cropping season of a tomato cultivation. For that purpose, the water retention curves (WRCs) were determined three months after the addition of two differently pyrolysed biochars (B1 and B2), at the rate of 14 Mg ha−1, to a silty clay loam soil prone to compaction. Starting from the WRCs the pore size distribution was determined. The gravimetric water content at both field capacity (FC) and wilting point (WP) was also measured on biochar samples to assess their available water capacity (AWC). In both the treatments, soil bulk density (BD) was significantly lower compared to control (Co), apparently as direct consequence of the addition of low density pellets. Actually, excluding the intrinsic biochar porosity from soil bulk density calculation, BD values of the treated soils remain lower of around 10% over Co. Such findings suggest that a modification of soil structural characteristics might have been induced by pellet addition. Data of the SWRCs indicate a significant increase in transmission (500–50 μm), storage (50–0.5 μm) and AWC pores (30–0.2 μm) for the amended soils. The pyrolysis process seemed to differentiate the extent of direct biochar contribution expressed by AWC values The addition of pelletized biochar was able to enhance the soil water retention properties even in the short term, and such improvement might be correlated to both the inherent biochar retention capacity and to a more functional rearrangement of soil aggregates/particles with pellets.
International Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 2015
Peat is used in olive-tree nurseries as a component in commercial growing media. Environmental an... more Peat is used in olive-tree nurseries as a component in commercial growing media. Environmental and economic pressures are questioning the use of peat as a component of substrates. In order to remain competitive and to satisfy environmental concerns, it is necessary to identify and evaluate possible alternatives to peat. This study involves the use of Azolla filiculoides, as a growing media component in olive nurseries (Olea europaea L.) for containerized plants. Four treatments were established, based on the addition of increasing quantities of Azolla (0%, 25%, 50%, and 100 %). Were determined some physical and chemical properties of media, the growth, the physiological parameters and nutritional state of olive plants. The physical and chemical properties of the media were significantly affected by the Azolla content. Nursery-produced olive plants grown in substrates supplemented by 50 % Azolla displayed linear growth and the total biomass production greater than those of the contro...
The effects of different management practices, such as the traditional tillage system (deep ploug... more The effects of different management practices, such as the traditional tillage system (deep ploughing) with compost addition, and a conservative one (minimum tillage), on soil organic matter and macroporosity are investigated. A three-year research (2005-2007) was performed on a silty clay loam soil under sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) continuous cropping. The comparison between the experimental data of the first and the third year, at the end of each cropping season, shows a significant increase in both total extractable (TEC) and humic organic carbon (HC) at 0÷10 and 15÷25 cm depth, for the compost treatment (COM) only. In minimum tillage (MT) a noteworthy raise is observed for total organic carbon (TOC) in the upper layer, while all the chemical parameters remain constant in both the layers of the control soil (T). As a whole, COM and MT soils exhibit the best structure. In COM a noticeable percentage of elongated transmission pores is mostly represented, probably related to high humic fraction amounts. In T low macroporosity values point out the occurrence of compact soil.
The focus of precision viticulture is the site-specific management of the vineyard surface; for t... more The focus of precision viticulture is the site-specific management of the vineyard surface; for this reason, the knowledge of the crop spatio-temporal variability response and of environment characteristics is needed. Identifying relationships between pedological variability and vegetation is the base to detect appropriate cultural techniques and for managing diverse vineyard areas differently. This paper reports the results of a research carried out in a representative area of the Chianti region (Siena, Italy). By the integrated use of innovative technologies (multispectral images analysis and geoelectrical survey), standard pedological survey and soil moisture monitoring, it has been highlighted that the same viticultural response does not have univocal meaning. In fact, areas characterised by the same plant vigour showed different soil properties and functional characters, as well as AWC, CEC and soil internal drainage.
Long-term experiments provide important information on the impact of agricultural management prac... more Long-term experiments provide important information on the impact of agricultural management practices on soil quality. In 1994, a trial was started to investigate the effects of four different tillage systems on organic carbon and physical properties of a Calcari Fluvic Cambisol loam soil under continuous maize. The tillage practices compared were: conventional tillage by mould-board ploughing to 40 cm depth (DP); ripper sub-soiling to 40-45 cm (RS); shallow tillage by mould-board ploughing to 20 cm depth (SP); minimum tillage by disk harrowing to 10-15 cm (DH). Soil carbon pool, bulk density, macroporosity and aggregate stability were studied at different depth increments (0-10, 10-20, 20-30 and 30-40 cm) and by two repeated samplings (in 1999 and 2011), in order to evaluate their temporal evolution under the different tillage systems. For a better understanding of mechanisms leading to C sequestration, a qualitative characterization of soil organic matter (OM) was performed by ac...
ABSTRACT Riassunto Si riportano i risultati di una ricerca volta a valutare gli effetti di due di... more ABSTRACT Riassunto Si riportano i risultati di una ricerca volta a valutare gli effetti di due diverse modalità di gestione dell'oliveto, finalizzate alla conservazione o al reintegro della sostanza organica (s.o.) nel terreno. La prima basata sull'adozione di tecniche conservative alternative alle lavorazioni: un sistema di gestione sostenibile (inerbimento spontaneo, trinciatura del materiale di potatura, mulching) a confronto con quello convenzionale (lavorazioni superficiali, allontanamento del materiale di potatura). La seconda volta a valutare gli effetti di differenti apporti di s.o. proveniente da sottoprodotti della filiera olivicola: acque di vegetazione (AV) e due dosi diverse di compost da sansa olearia (CS1) (CS2). CS1 ha fornito i migliori risultati in termini di capacità di accumulo e di umificazione del C organico apportato. Nel sistema sostenibile si è osservato un aumento di C organico totale (TOC) nello strato superficiale (0-10 cm); la macroporosità, seppure non elevata, è omogeneamente distribuita lungo il profilo. Al contrario, in quello convenzionale le lavorazioni hanno provocato una generale diminuzione del tenore di s.o. e la formazione di uno strato compatto a circa 10 cm di profondità; ciò, unitamente alla formazione di croste superficiali, ha contribuito all'innesco di processi di erosione incanalata e conseguenze negative sulla formazione della riserva idrica. Abstract Trials were carried out to evaluate the effect of different management techniques for maintaining or restoring soil organic matter. Conventional System vs. Sustainable System, and different olive oil industry wastes used as fertilizers were tested. Compost from olive husk increased TOC and humic C content. In the Sustainable System soil organic matter content increased, macroporosity was homogeneously distributed along the profile. This favoured the vertical water movement down to the deeper horizons so increasing soil water storage and avoiding water erosion.
... 2) can be printed and auto-matically saved to another (graphic)file labeled with the (ASCII)r... more ... 2) can be printed and auto-matically saved to another (graphic)file labeled with the (ASCII)record name followed by the DWG exten ... Precision achieved and varia-tions dependent on different op-erators: Since 33 variables are ana-lyzed, the ANOVA of the single vari-ables are ...
This multidisciplinary research work evaluated the effects of soil erosion on grape yield and qua... more This multidisciplinary research work evaluated the effects of soil erosion on grape yield and quality and on different soil functions, namely water and nutrient supply, carbon sequestration, organic matter recycling, and soil biodiversity, with the aim to understand the causes of soil malfunctioning and work out a proper strategy of soil remediation. Degraded areas in nineteen organically farmed European and Turkish vineyards resulted in producing significantly lower amounts of grapes and excessive concentrations of sugar. Plants suffered from decreased water nutrition, due to shallower rooting depth, compaction, and reduced available water capacity, lower chemical fertility, as total nitrogen and cation exchange capacity, and higher concentration of carbonates. Carbon storage and organic matter recycling were also depressed. The general trend of soil enzyme activity mainly followed organic matter stock. Specific enzymatic activities suggested that in degraded soils, alongside a gen...
Abstract The field application of pelletized biochar is seldom employed and its effect on soil hy... more Abstract The field application of pelletized biochar is seldom employed and its effect on soil hydrological behavior scarcely investigated. Biochar is usually added in powdered or granular form to improve the homogeneity of distribution, meanwhile favoring its interaction with soil matrix. In this paper we evaluated the possibility of applying pelletized biochar as soil conditioner during a single cropping season of a tomato cultivation. For that purpose, the water retention curves (WRCs) were determined three months after the addition of two differently pyrolysed biochars (B1 and B2), at the rate of 14 Mg ha−1, to a silty clay loam soil prone to compaction. Starting from the WRCs the pore size distribution was determined. The gravimetric water content at both field capacity (FC) and wilting point (WP) was also measured on biochar samples to assess their available water capacity (AWC). In both the treatments, soil bulk density (BD) was significantly lower compared to control (Co), apparently as direct consequence of the addition of low density pellets. Actually, excluding the intrinsic biochar porosity from soil bulk density calculation, BD values of the treated soils remain lower of around 10% over Co. Such findings suggest that a modification of soil structural characteristics might have been induced by pellet addition. Data of the SWRCs indicate a significant increase in transmission (500–50 μm), storage (50–0.5 μm) and AWC pores (30–0.2 μm) for the amended soils. The pyrolysis process seemed to differentiate the extent of direct biochar contribution expressed by AWC values The addition of pelletized biochar was able to enhance the soil water retention properties even in the short term, and such improvement might be correlated to both the inherent biochar retention capacity and to a more functional rearrangement of soil aggregates/particles with pellets.
International Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 2015
Peat is used in olive-tree nurseries as a component in commercial growing media. Environmental an... more Peat is used in olive-tree nurseries as a component in commercial growing media. Environmental and economic pressures are questioning the use of peat as a component of substrates. In order to remain competitive and to satisfy environmental concerns, it is necessary to identify and evaluate possible alternatives to peat. This study involves the use of Azolla filiculoides, as a growing media component in olive nurseries (Olea europaea L.) for containerized plants. Four treatments were established, based on the addition of increasing quantities of Azolla (0%, 25%, 50%, and 100 %). Were determined some physical and chemical properties of media, the growth, the physiological parameters and nutritional state of olive plants. The physical and chemical properties of the media were significantly affected by the Azolla content. Nursery-produced olive plants grown in substrates supplemented by 50 % Azolla displayed linear growth and the total biomass production greater than those of the contro...
The effects of different management practices, such as the traditional tillage system (deep ploug... more The effects of different management practices, such as the traditional tillage system (deep ploughing) with compost addition, and a conservative one (minimum tillage), on soil organic matter and macroporosity are investigated. A three-year research (2005-2007) was performed on a silty clay loam soil under sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) continuous cropping. The comparison between the experimental data of the first and the third year, at the end of each cropping season, shows a significant increase in both total extractable (TEC) and humic organic carbon (HC) at 0÷10 and 15÷25 cm depth, for the compost treatment (COM) only. In minimum tillage (MT) a noteworthy raise is observed for total organic carbon (TOC) in the upper layer, while all the chemical parameters remain constant in both the layers of the control soil (T). As a whole, COM and MT soils exhibit the best structure. In COM a noticeable percentage of elongated transmission pores is mostly represented, probably related to high humic fraction amounts. In T low macroporosity values point out the occurrence of compact soil.
The focus of precision viticulture is the site-specific management of the vineyard surface; for t... more The focus of precision viticulture is the site-specific management of the vineyard surface; for this reason, the knowledge of the crop spatio-temporal variability response and of environment characteristics is needed. Identifying relationships between pedological variability and vegetation is the base to detect appropriate cultural techniques and for managing diverse vineyard areas differently. This paper reports the results of a research carried out in a representative area of the Chianti region (Siena, Italy). By the integrated use of innovative technologies (multispectral images analysis and geoelectrical survey), standard pedological survey and soil moisture monitoring, it has been highlighted that the same viticultural response does not have univocal meaning. In fact, areas characterised by the same plant vigour showed different soil properties and functional characters, as well as AWC, CEC and soil internal drainage.
Long-term experiments provide important information on the impact of agricultural management prac... more Long-term experiments provide important information on the impact of agricultural management practices on soil quality. In 1994, a trial was started to investigate the effects of four different tillage systems on organic carbon and physical properties of a Calcari Fluvic Cambisol loam soil under continuous maize. The tillage practices compared were: conventional tillage by mould-board ploughing to 40 cm depth (DP); ripper sub-soiling to 40-45 cm (RS); shallow tillage by mould-board ploughing to 20 cm depth (SP); minimum tillage by disk harrowing to 10-15 cm (DH). Soil carbon pool, bulk density, macroporosity and aggregate stability were studied at different depth increments (0-10, 10-20, 20-30 and 30-40 cm) and by two repeated samplings (in 1999 and 2011), in order to evaluate their temporal evolution under the different tillage systems. For a better understanding of mechanisms leading to C sequestration, a qualitative characterization of soil organic matter (OM) was performed by ac...
ABSTRACT Riassunto Si riportano i risultati di una ricerca volta a valutare gli effetti di due di... more ABSTRACT Riassunto Si riportano i risultati di una ricerca volta a valutare gli effetti di due diverse modalità di gestione dell'oliveto, finalizzate alla conservazione o al reintegro della sostanza organica (s.o.) nel terreno. La prima basata sull'adozione di tecniche conservative alternative alle lavorazioni: un sistema di gestione sostenibile (inerbimento spontaneo, trinciatura del materiale di potatura, mulching) a confronto con quello convenzionale (lavorazioni superficiali, allontanamento del materiale di potatura). La seconda volta a valutare gli effetti di differenti apporti di s.o. proveniente da sottoprodotti della filiera olivicola: acque di vegetazione (AV) e due dosi diverse di compost da sansa olearia (CS1) (CS2). CS1 ha fornito i migliori risultati in termini di capacità di accumulo e di umificazione del C organico apportato. Nel sistema sostenibile si è osservato un aumento di C organico totale (TOC) nello strato superficiale (0-10 cm); la macroporosità, seppure non elevata, è omogeneamente distribuita lungo il profilo. Al contrario, in quello convenzionale le lavorazioni hanno provocato una generale diminuzione del tenore di s.o. e la formazione di uno strato compatto a circa 10 cm di profondità; ciò, unitamente alla formazione di croste superficiali, ha contribuito all'innesco di processi di erosione incanalata e conseguenze negative sulla formazione della riserva idrica. Abstract Trials were carried out to evaluate the effect of different management techniques for maintaining or restoring soil organic matter. Conventional System vs. Sustainable System, and different olive oil industry wastes used as fertilizers were tested. Compost from olive husk increased TOC and humic C content. In the Sustainable System soil organic matter content increased, macroporosity was homogeneously distributed along the profile. This favoured the vertical water movement down to the deeper horizons so increasing soil water storage and avoiding water erosion.
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Papers by Nadia Vignozzi