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Management of chestnut plantations for a multifunctional land use under Mediterranean conditions: effects on productivity and sustainability

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Abstract

Chestnut plantations for fruit production in Northern Portugal have been subjected to intensive management system, including soil tillage, mineral fertilization and pruning. Some of these practices have no positive effect on productivity and soil–plant–water relations. Other systems (e.g., no tillage with maintenance of grass cover) have been adopted, aiming a multifunctional land use, exploiting nuts, pasture and edible mushrooms. Thus, an experimental trial was installed to assess the effects of such systems on productivity, sustainability and annual net income, as compared with the conventional system, over a six-year period. The treatments were: conventional soil tillage (CT); no tillage with permanent spontaneous herbaceous vegetation cover (NV); no tillage with permanent rainfed seeded pasture cover (NP); and as NP but with irrigation (NIP). Production of nuts, forage and edible mushrooms were measured and sustainability was assessed by production and diversity of fungal sporocarps. Annual net income was estimated by the difference between the annual gross outputs (market values for nuts, forage and edible commercial mushrooms) and the annual input costs. The greatest nut and edible mushroom production and sporocarp biodiversity were achieved in the NIP and NV and the smallest in the CT treatment. The highest annual gross output was estimated for the NV and NIP treatments, whereas the highest annual net income was obtained for the NV. No tillage with maintenance of spontaneous grass cover showed to be the most favourable management system, as it has increased productivity and biodiversity.

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Abbreviations

CT:

Conventional tillage

D:

Fruit diameter in frontal view

d:

Fruit diameter in lateral view

DM:

Dry matter

FU:

Feed units

FW:

Fresh weight

h:

Fruit height

NV:

No tillage with herbaceous spontaneous vegetation cover

NP:

No tillage with rainfed seeded pasture

NIP:

No tillage with irrigated seeded pasture

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank to the European project MANCHEST (Contract QLK5-2001-00029), PROCAST project (No. 391 of AGRO program) and CITAB, which supported this study. José Carlos Rego and Jani Costa Pires are acknowledged for assistance on measurements and samplings. Prof Ana Carla Madeira is acknowledged for English style improvement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro—CITAB, Apart. 1013, 5001-801, Vila Real, Portugal

    A. Martins, G. Marques, E. Portela, J. Lousada & F. Raimundo

  2. Direcção Regional de Agricultura do Norte (DRAPN) Delegação do Nordeste Transmontano, Av. General Humberto Delgado, 5301-903, Bragança, Portugal

    O. Borges

  3. Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017, Lisbon, Portugal

    M. Madeira

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  1. A. Martins
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Martins, A., Marques, G., Borges, O. et al. Management of chestnut plantations for a multifunctional land use under Mediterranean conditions: effects on productivity and sustainability. Agroforest Syst 81, 175–189 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-010-9355-2

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