Vincent de Leijster

33 Agroecological management improves ecosystem services in almond orchards within one year 3 al., 2012). In contrast, understory vegetation was associated with increased soil microbial activity (Ramos et al., 2011), less erosion and runoff (Durán Zuazo et al., 2006), and increased pollinator abundance (Saunders et al., 2013). Further, the combination of organic soil amendments and permanent understory cover resulted in 28–50% higher peach and kiwi yields and improved soil nutrient (N, P, K) levels (Montanaro et al., 2010). In this paper we assess whether agroecological management affects the rehabilitation potential and interactions of regulating, supporting and provisioning ecosystem services in almond orchards in southern Spain. We tested the hypothesis that degraded ecosystem services in woody-crop systems can be rehabilitated by minimum mechanical soil disturbance, understory vegetation and application of organic amendments, while maintaining or enhancing food provisioning levels. Thus, we conducted a field experiment where we manipulated soil and understory management practices (no tillage, green manure and compost) and compared it with conventional tillage in five degraded almond orchards. We analyzed the effects of these practices on six ecosystem services: nutrient cycling (potential organic matter decomposition, soil nutrient availability, crop nutrient uptake), habitat provisioning (understory plant diversity, canopy arthropod diversity), carbon stock (soil and understory organic carbon content), pest control (abundance of pests and their natural enemies), pollination (abundance of pollinators and fruit set), and food provisioning (almond nut production). Finally, we assessed whether bundles of ecosystem services or trade-offs could be identified according to their response to the treatments. Our findings contribute to understanding the specific ecosystem services that can be targeted in rehabilitation and restoration projects of degraded Mediterranean woody-crop systems. 3.2 METHODS 3.2.1 Study area The study was conducted in the high plains of the provinces of Granada and Almeria in eastern Andalusia, SE Spain. This region was chosen because here almond is the most abundant woody crop, covering an area of 8.7%. Almonds are the fastest expanding woody crop in Andalusia, having increased by 18% between 2014 and 2017 (Consejería de Agricultura Pesca y Desarollo Rural, 2016; Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, 2018). The almond farms in these high plains are typically located at elevations varying between approximately 700–1300 m. The study region is subject to biophysical land degradation processes, such as accelerated erosion and soil organic matter depletion (García-Ruiz, 2010), and has been