Articles
Introduction of aromatic plants and beehives to enhance ecosystem services in traditional olive orchards
Article number
1355_8
Pages
55 – 62
Language
English
Abstract
The disproportionate tillage in olive orchards, one of the most emblematic Mediterranean agricultural systems, has caused severe soil erosion and degradation, in addition to a simplification of the agroecosystem when managed as a monoculture, reducing the richness and abundance of associated plant, animal and soil microorganism species.
Furthermore, the traditional olive orchards in Madrid region (Spain), located in the center of the Iberian Peninsula, suffer from low profitability, which has sometimes led to a progressive land abandonment.
To reverse this situation, the operational group Honey Olive Orchards (Olivares de Miel, in Spanish) within the 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme for the Comunidad de Madrid, proposes an agroecological alternative in traditional olive orchards, such as the cultivation of aromatic plants between the rows of olive trees and the establishment of honey beehives nearby.
The project general objective was to diversify the olive orchard production in order not only to increase the farmer income, but also to enhance soil physico-chemical characteristics and prevent its erosion, as well as to increase biodiversity and the ecosystem services that these agrosystems provide to the society, such as pollination or pests biocontrol.
Furthermore, the project aimed to evaluate the interest of intercropping innovation and landscape diversification for the olive oil, beekeeping and agritourism sectors in the region.
The project was initially carried out in four olive orchards from different municipalities of the south and southeast of Madrid, where lavender, lavandin or rosemary were planted and small apiaries were installed nearby.
There were two plots in each olive orchard, one in which aromatic plants grew between olive trees rows, and the control plot without intercropping of aromatic bushes.
Project finishes in November 2022, so we will discuss the possible benefits of the cultivation of aromatic plants within olive orchards based on the preliminary results from the ongoing experiments.
Furthermore, the traditional olive orchards in Madrid region (Spain), located in the center of the Iberian Peninsula, suffer from low profitability, which has sometimes led to a progressive land abandonment.
To reverse this situation, the operational group Honey Olive Orchards (Olivares de Miel, in Spanish) within the 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme for the Comunidad de Madrid, proposes an agroecological alternative in traditional olive orchards, such as the cultivation of aromatic plants between the rows of olive trees and the establishment of honey beehives nearby.
The project general objective was to diversify the olive orchard production in order not only to increase the farmer income, but also to enhance soil physico-chemical characteristics and prevent its erosion, as well as to increase biodiversity and the ecosystem services that these agrosystems provide to the society, such as pollination or pests biocontrol.
Furthermore, the project aimed to evaluate the interest of intercropping innovation and landscape diversification for the olive oil, beekeeping and agritourism sectors in the region.
The project was initially carried out in four olive orchards from different municipalities of the south and southeast of Madrid, where lavender, lavandin or rosemary were planted and small apiaries were installed nearby.
There were two plots in each olive orchard, one in which aromatic plants grew between olive trees rows, and the control plot without intercropping of aromatic bushes.
Project finishes in November 2022, so we will discuss the possible benefits of the cultivation of aromatic plants within olive orchards based on the preliminary results from the ongoing experiments.
Authors
A. Moreno-Delafuente, O. Antón, R. Bienes, A. Borrego, A. Cuevas, A. García-Díaz, B. Sastre
Keywords
arthropod fauna, biodiversity, intercropping, olive sustainable management practices, trophic guilds
Online Articles (60)