Sustainable production systems in fruit tree orchards

This paper mainly focuses on the effects of changed soil management practices from conventional (soil tillage, mineral fertilisers, burning of pruning residues) to sustainable (no-tillage, pruning residues and cover crop retention, compost application) on soil microbial biomass and organic carbon (SOC). Additionally, the water footprint (m3 t-1) for a sustainable olive orchard and its green and blue components are reported. Results show that a 7-year period of changed practices significantly increased SOC concentration and soil microbial biomass at Mediterranean fruit tree orchards. The paper shows the beneficial effects of sustainable practices on yield which was improved by 30-50% as compared with conventional managed orchards. The effects of carbon addition on reserves of soil nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg) and on CO2 soil emission are discussed.