Impact of Agricultural Management in Vineyards to Landslides Susceptibility in Italian Apennines

Cultivation of grapevines in sloping soils is very widespread all over the world, representing also a fundamental branch of the local economy of several hilly zones. Vineyards can be managed in different ways especially in the inter-rows. These management practices may influence deeply soil properties and grapevine root development. Therefore, this work aims to analyze the effects of different agronomical practices of inter-rows on soil properties, grapevine root systems and proneness towards shallow landslides. We focused on traditional agricultural techniques of tillage and permanent grass cover as well as the alternation of these two practices between adjacent inter-rows. The research was conducted in several test-sites of the Oltrepò Pavese, one of the most important Italian zones for wine production in northern Italian Apennines. Among the examined soil properties, soil hydraulic conductivity was the most influenced one by different soil management practices. Regarding the features of the grapevine root system, vineyards with alternation management of inter-rows had the highest root density and the strongest root reinforcement. As a consequence, slopes with medium steepness were unstable if inter-rows of vineyards were tilled, while vineyards with permanent grass cover or alternation in the inter rows promoted the stability of slopes with higher steepness. The results of this study yielded important information to establish land use managements acting as mitigation measures for shallow landslides susceptibility.