Experimental assessment of runoff and soil erosion in an olive grove on a Vertic soil in southern Spain as affected by soil management

Three different soil management systems were compared in terms of runoff and erosion in an olive grove on a Vertic soil near Cordoba, Spain. A no-tillage system was kept weed-free with herbicides and yielded the largest soil loss of 8.5 tpy/ha and average annual runoff coefficient of 21.5%, due to increased soil compaction. The lowest soil losses of 1.2 tpy/ha and average annual runoff coefficient of 2.5% was measured for a system that used a grass cover. Conventional tillage gave intermediate results, with a soil loss of 4 tpy/ha and average runoff coefficient of 7.4%.