Soil Productivity Degradation in a Long-Term Eroded Olive Orchard under Semiarid Mediterranean Conditions

Olive groves are one of the most important agro-systems in the Mediterranean basin, and
the Andalusia region produces the highest quantity of olive oil in Europe. The aim of this work
was to evaluate the long-term (15 years) influence of two management practices in olive orchards—
conventional tillage (CT) and no tillage with bare soil and herbicide application (NT + H)—on
soil physical properties, infiltration capacity, erosion rates, and soil productivity. In addition, the
short-term (2 years) influence of no tillage with cover crop management (NT-CC) on these parameters
was also assessed. In the study area, CT and NT + H management practices showed unsustainable
erosion values, 9.82 and 13.88 Mg ha􀀀1 year􀀀1, respectively, while NT-CC inclusion decreased the
erosion rates (2.06 Mg ha􀀀1 year􀀀1). The implementation of NT-CC not only reduced erosion rates
but also caused a change in the trend of soil productivity loss observed under CT and NT + H. In
this sense, NT-CC showed a positive influence on soil quality. However, tillage removal led to a
significant reduction in the infiltration capacity of soils under NT + H and NT-CC, which will be a
serious handicap for water storage in an environment with continuous processes of water deficit.