Vincent de Leijster

35 Agroecological management improves ecosystem services in almond orchards within one year 3 ervilia ; 50 kg ha -1 ) and barley ( Hordeum vulgare ; 20 kg ha -1 ). In early June the understory was harrowed into the soil. The plots with compost application (CM) were fertilized in December Table 3-1. Characteristics of the almond farms used for the experiments and the details on treatment implementation per farm. CT refers to conventional tillage ( > 2 times), RT to reduced tillage (1-2 times), GM to green manure, NT to no tillage and CM to compost. Farm 1 Farm 2 Farm 3 Farm 4 Farm 5 Soil texture Loam Loam Sandy clay loam Sandy loam Loam Soil type Calcic Regosols Eutric Cambisols Calcic Cambisols Eutric Fluvisols Calcic Cambisols Elevation (m) 1250 900 1100 1100 1250 Slope (%) 7 24 4 2 8 Average rainfall in the past 5 years (mean± st.dev.; mm) 262 ± 23 284 ± 24 296 ± 20 333 ± 23 327 ± 27 Location Los Vélez, Almería Alto Almanzora, Almería Huéscar, Granada Guadix, Granada Los Vélez, Almería Crop density (trees ha -1 ) 156 89 51 204 156 Crop age (year) 15 25 40 15 13 Almond variety Guara Marcona/ Desmayo Verdieri Guara Antoñeta/ Guara Historical management CT CT + occasional sheep grazing RT + occasional sheep grazing CT CT + occasional sheep grazing + organic fertilizer Implementation of treatments All: Dec 2016 All: Jan 2017 GM & CM: Dec. 2016 NT: Dec 2015 GM & CM: Dec 2016 NT: Dec 2015 All: Dec 2016 with compost (fermented sheep manure and straw; type bokashi) purchased locally (Table 3-1), applied manually near the almond trees at an approximate rate of 6 m 3 ha -1 and incorporated in the soil. This follows the advises from the local compost vendor and extension services, and is comparable to previous studies on woody crop systems in the region (Montanaro et al., 2010). In addition, the CM plots were harrowed 1–2 times to remove weeds. The same compost and seed mixture were used on all farms. During the study period, neither pesticides nor fertilizers were applied to the plots, except on Farm 5, where additional organic fertilizer (Fercrisa 5N-5P-5K, 300 kg ha -1 ) was applied to all treatments, because of farmer’s preference.