Sustainable management of vineyard soils: an experimental approach to investigate the responses of the edaphic arthropod community

This research aims to investigate the response of the edaphic arthropod community (assessed with the QBS-ar index) to vineyard soil management, through a field experiment conducted in the context of the F.A.Re.Su.Bio Project (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development - Lombardy Region). Nineteen vineyards located in two Italian wine-growing regions, Franciacorta DOCG and Oltrepò Pavese DOC/DOCG, were monitored over a period of 3 years (2019-2021), in order to investigate the combined effects of primary abiotic variables characterising the soil environment, such as the chemical and physical composition of soil, and soil management practices including organic fertilisation, organic fertiliser incorporation, tillage and the use of different artificial cover crop on the QBS-ar index. The results obtained from the study showed that a moderate disturbance of the soil could lead to positive effects on QBS-ar, as well as sowing practice. Of the chemical and physical characteristics of soil, texture proved to be the variable most influencing variation in QBS-ar; other influencing variables included chemical components of soil such as initial (2019) QBS-ar, total Cu, pH, CEC, and exchangeable phosphorous content. This study provided an indication of how the combined effects of soil management influence soil biological quality, and how to improve soil biodiversity.