Short-term impact of crop diversification on soil carbon fluxes and balance in rainfed and irrigated woody cropping systems under semiarid Mediterranean conditions

Diversifcation practices such as intercropping in woody cropping systems have recently been proposed as a promising management strategy for addressing problems related to soil degradation, climate change mitigation and food security. In this study, we assess the impact of several diversifcation practices in diferent management regimes on the main carbon fuxes regulating the soil carbon balance under semiarid Mediterranean conditions.The study was conducted in two nearby cropping systems: (i) a low input rainfed almond (Prunus dulcis Mill.) orchard cultivated on terraces and (ii) a levelled intensively irrigated mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) orchard with a street-ridge morphology. The almond trees were intercropped with Capparis spinosa or with Thymus hyemalis While the mandarin trees were intercropped with a mixture of barley and vetch followed by fava bean. Changes caused by crop diversifcations on C inputs into the soil and C outputs from the soil were estimated.