Abstract
Olive-based agroforestry could provide a sustainable solution to improving agricultural productivity and environmental conservation, particularly through intercropping cereal and legume crops with olive trees. However, the deep assessment of agro-physiological indicators between intercropped forage legumes and cereals with olive trees is poorly documented in the literature. The aim of this field research was to assess the performance of olive-based agroforestry systems by analyzing how the main agro-physiological indicators change among two contrasting intercropping arrangements of forage and arable crops. Field trials were carried out during two contrasting growing seasons in a young olive grove under semi-arid climate. To further enhance our understanding of olive-agroforestry performance in terms of growth and yield, multiple agro-physiological parameters were measured in arable and olive monocultures, as well as in the olive-intercropping system with two contrasting intercropping arrangements of pea and barley. The results demonstrated that olive tree canopy significantly stimulated the growth of shoots and roots of intercropped barley, increasing LAI (+ 4 units), shoot dry biomass (+ 56%) and both root depth (+ 19%) and width (+ 26%), compared to barley monoculture. Olive-agroforestry also enhanced barley grain and protein yield (+ 58%) during both seasons. The agroforestry system had additional benefits in improving the vegetative growth of intercropped olive trees by increasing soil nitrogen availability. Our findings highlight also the potential benefits of intercropping olive trees with pea in improving both fruit and oil yields in olive production. Olive-based agroforestry promotes an optimized micro-climate to effectively reduce the impact of drought on intercropped barley and improves resources use by pea under optimal conditions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Afidol (2015) Guide du planteur d’oliviers en Languedoc-Roussillon. Version 5. http://afidol.org/wpcontent/uploads/guide_planteur_LR.pdf
Amassaghrou A, Barkaoui K, Bouaziz A, Alaoui SB, Fatemi ZEA, Daoui K (2023a) Yield and related traits of three legume crops grown in olive-based agroforestry under an intense drought in the South Mediterranean. Saudi J Biol Sci 30:103597. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2023.103597
Amassaghrou A, Barkaoui K, Bouaziz A, Alaoui SB, Razouk R, Daoui K (2023b) Impact of legumes and cereals on olive productivity in the south. Malay J Sustain Agric 7:6–13. https://doi.org/10.26480/mjsa.01.2023.06.13
Ameur F, Amichi H, Leauthaud C (2020) Agroecology in North African irrigated plains? Mapping promising practices and characterizing farmers’ underlying logics. Reg Environ Change 20:133. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-020-01719-1
Artru S, Garre S, Dupraz C, Hiel MP, Blitz-Frayret C, Lassois L (2017) Impact of spatio-temporal shade dynamics on wheat growth and yield, perspectives for temperate agroforestry. Eur J Agron 82:60–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2016.10.004
Boucheffa S, Miazzi MM, di Rienzo V, Mangini G, Fanelli V, Tamendjari A, Montemurro C (2016) The coexistence of oleaster and traditional varieties affects genetic diversity and population structure in Algerian olive (Olea europaea) germplasm. Genet Resour Crop Evol 64(2):379–390. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-016-0365-4
Bouras FZ, Hadjout S, Haddad B, Malek A, Aitmoumene S, Gueboub F, Metrah L, Zemmouri B, Kherif O, Rebouh NY et al (2023) The effect of nitrogen supply on water and nitrogen use efficiency by Wheat–Chickpea intercropping system under rain-fed mediterranean conditions. Agriculture 13:338
Burgess AJ, Correa Cano ME, Parkes B (2022) The deployment of intercropping and agroforestry as adaptation to climate change. Crop Environ 1:145–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crope.2022.05.001
Chehab H, Tekaya M, Ouhibi M, Gouiaa M, Zakhama H, Mahjoub Z, Laamari S, Sfina H, Chihaoui B, Boujnah D, Mechri B (2019) Effects of compost, olive mill wastewater and legume cover cropson soil characteristics, tree performance and oil quality of olive trees cv. Chemlali grown under organic farming system. Sci Hortic. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2019.04.039
Correia CM, Brito C, Sampaio A, Dias AA, Bacelar E, Gonçalves B, Ferreira H, Moutinho-Pereira J, Rodrigues MA (2015) Leguminous cover crops improve the profitability and the sustainability of rainfed olive (Olea europaea L.) orchards: from soil biology to physiology of yield determination. Procedia Environ Sci 29:282–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proenv.2015.07.213
Daoui K, Fatemi ZEA (2014) Agroforestry systems in Morocco: the case of olive tree and annual crops association in Saïs region. Science, Policy and Politics of Modern Agricultural System. Global Context to Local Dynamics of Sustainable Agriculture. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7957-0_19
den Herder M, Moreno G, Mosquera-Losada RM, Palma JHN, Sidiropoulou A, Santiago Freijanes JJ, Crous-Duran J, Paulo JA, Tomé M, Pantera A, Papanastasis VP, Mantzanas K, Pachana P, Papadopoulos A, Plieninger T, Burgess PJ (2017) Current extent and stratification of agroforestry in the European Union. Agric Ecosyst Environ 241:121–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2017.03.005
El Mouhtadi I, Agouzzal A, Guy F (2014) L’olivier au Maroc. OCL 21(2):D203. https://doi.org/10.1051/ocl/2013053
Fukase E, Martin W (2020) Economic growth, convergence, and world food demand and supply. World Dev 132:104954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.104954
Haberman D, Bennett EM (2019) Ecosystem service bundles in global hinterlands. Environ Res Lett 14:084005. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab26f7
Haddad B, Gristina AS, Mercati F, Saadi AE, Aiter N, Martorana A, Sharaf A, Carimi F (2020) Molecular analysis of the official Algerian olive collection highlighted a hotspot of biodiversity in the central Mediterranean basin. Genes 11(3):303. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes11030303
Kato S, Sayama T, Taguchi-Shiobara F, Kikuchi A, Ishimoto M, Cober E (2019) Effect of change from a determinate to a semi-determinate growth habit on the yield and lodging resistance of soybeans in the northeast region of Japan. Breed Sci 69(1):151–159. https://doi.org/10.1270/jsbbs.18112
Kavvadias V, Koubouris G (2019) Sustainable soil management practices in olive groves. In: Panpatte DG, Jhala YK (eds) Soil fertility management for sustainable development. Springer, Singapore, pp 167–188. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-5904-0_8
Kherif O, Seghouani M, Zemmouri B et al (2021a) Understanding the response of wheat-chickpea intercropping to nitrogen fertilization using agro-ecological competitive indices under contrasting pedoclimatic conditions. Agronomy 11:1225. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11061225
Kherif O, Keskes MI, Pansu M, Ouaret W, Rebouh YN, Dokukin P, Kucher D, Latati M (2021b) Agroecological modeling of nitrogen and carbon transfers between decomposer micro-organisms, plant symbionts, soil and atmosphere in an intercropping system. Ecol Model 440:109390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109390
Kherif O, Seghouani M, Justes E et al (2022) The first calibration and evaluation of the STICS soil-crop model on chickpea-based intercropping system under Mediterranean conditions. Eur J Agron 133:126449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2021.126449
Koubouris GC, Kourgialas NN, Kavvadias V, Digalaki N, Psarras G (2017) Sustainable agricultural practices for improving soil carbon and nitrogen content in relation to water availability an adapted approach to mediterranean olive groves. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 48(22):2687–2700
Krishnamurthy L, Krishnamurthy PK, Rajagopal I, Solares AP (2019) Can agroforestry systems thrive in the drylands? Characteristics of successful agroforestry systems in the arid and semi-arid regions of Latin America. Agrofor Syst 93:503–513. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-017-0143-0
Latati M, Dokukin P, Aouiche A, Rebouh NY, Takouachet R, Hafnaoui E, Hamdani FZ, Bacha F, Ounane SM (2019) Species interactions improve above-ground biomass and land use efficiency in intercropped wheat and chickpea under low soil inputs. Agronomy 9:765. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9110765
Lauri PÉ, Barkaoui K, Ater M, Rosati A (2019) Agroforestry for fruit trees in Europe and Mediterranean North Africa. In: Mosquera-Losada MR, Prabhu R (eds) Agroforestry for sustainable agriculture. Burleigh Dodds series in agricultural science, Cambridgeshire, pp 385–418. https://doi.org/10.19103/AS.2018.0041.18
Leo MWM (1963) Determination of soil carbonates by a rapidegasometric method. J Agric Food Chem 11:452–455
Lynch JM, Barbano DM (1999) Kjeldahl nitrogen analysis as a reference method for protein determination in dairy products. J AOAC Int 82:1389–1398. https://doi.org/10.1093/jaoac/82.6.1389
MADR (2020) Statistiques agricoles: production et superficiées. Serie B 2018. https://madr.gov.dz/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/SERIE-B-2018.pdf
McBratney AB, Odeh IOA, Bishop TFA et al (2000) An overview of pedometric techniques for use in soil survey. Geoderma 97:293–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0016-7061(00)00043-4
Nevo E, Chen G (2010) Drought and salt tolerances in wild relatives for wheat and barley improvement. Plant Cell Environ 33:670–685. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3040.2009.02107.x
Panozzo A, Bernazeau B, Desclaux D (2020) Durum wheat in organic olive orchard: good deal for the farmers? Agrofor Syst 94:707–717. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-019-00441-0
Pantera A, Burgess PJ, Mosquera Losada R, Moreno G, López-Díaz ML, Corroyer N, McAdam J, Rosati A, Papadopoulos AM, Graves A, Rigueiro-Rodríguez A, Ferreiro-Domínguez N, Fernández Lorenzo JL, González-Hernández MP, Papanastasis VP, Mantzanas K, Van Lerberghe P, Malignier N (2018) Agroforestry for high value tree systems in Europe. Agrofor Syst 92:945–959. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-017-0181-7
Pantera Α, Mosquera-Losada MR, Herzog F, den Herder M (2021) Agroforestry and the environment. Agrofor Syst 95:767–774. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-021-00640-8
Pantera A (2014) Initial stakeholder report—intercropping of olive groves in Greece. TEI Stereas Elladas, Greece. http://agforward.eu/index.php/en/intercropping-of-olivegrovesingreece.html?file=files/agforward/documents/WP3_GR_olives_Kassandreia.pdf
Papanastasis VP, Mantzanas K, Dini-Papanastasi O, Ispikoudis I (2009) Traditional agroforestry systems and their evolution in Greece. In: Rigueiro-Rodróguez A, McAdam J, Mosquera-Losada MR (eds) Agroforestry in Europe. Advances in agroforestry, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8272-6_5
Peoples MB, Hauggaard-Nielsen H, Huguenin-Elie O, Jensen ES, Justes E, Williams M (2019) The contributions of legumes to reducing the environmental risk of agricultural production. Agroecosystem diversity. Academic Press, Cambridge, pp 123–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-811050-8.00008-X
Razouk R, Daoui K, Ramdani A, Chergaoui A (2016) Optimal distance between olive trees and annual crops in rainfed intercropping system in northern Morocco. J Crop Sci Res 1:23–32
Shen AL, Li XY, Kanamori T, Arao T (1996) Effect of long-term application of compost on some chemical properties of wheat rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils. Pedosphere 6:355–363
Smiraglia D, Cavalli A, Giuliani C, Assennato F (2023) The increasing coastal urbanization in the Mediterranean environment: the state of the art in Italy. Land 12(5):1017. https://doi.org/10.3390/land12051017
Solomou AD, Sfougaris A (2021) Contribution of Agro-environmental factors to yield and plant diversity of olive grove ecosystems (Olea europaea L.) in the Mediterranean landscape. Agronomy 11(1):161. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11010161
Temani F, Bouaziz A, Daoui K, Wery J, Barkaoui K (2021) Olive agroforestry can improve land productivity even under low water availability in the South Mediterranean. Agric Ecosyst Environ 307:107234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2020.107234
United Nations (2019) Department of economic and social affairs, population division. World population prospects 2019. Online Edition. Rev. 1. https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Standard/Population/2019
Vignozzi N, Agnelli AE, Brandi G, Gagnarli E, Goggioli D, Lagomarsino A, Pellegrini S, Simoncini S, Simoni S, Valboa G, Caruso G, Gucci R (2019) Soil ecosystem function in high-density olive orchard managed by different soil conservation practices. Appl Soil Ecol 134:64–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2018.10.014
Watson DJ (1947) Comparative physiological studies in the growth of field crops. I. Variation in net assimilation rate and leaf area between species and varieties, and within and between years. Ann Bot 11:41–76
Zemmouri B, Lammoglia SK, Bouras FZ, Seghouani M, Rebouh NY, Latati M (2022) Modelling human health risks from pesticide use in innovative legume-cereal intercropping systems in Mediterranean conditions. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 238:113590. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113590
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all involved farmers and to Mr. Elhoucine, the leader of the olive grove farm, for their participation and cooperation in this research work, which allowed us access to their farm for the duration of the two-year experiment.
Funding
The authors received the financial support from the Directorate General of Scientific Research and Technological Development (DGRSDT-MESRS-Algiers, project PRIMA-S2-BIODIVERSIFY, contract number 335). This project was supported by the Algerian funding agency DGRSDT within the framework of PRIMA Foundation, call 2019-Section 2—BIODIVERSIFY “Boost ecosystem services through high Biodiversity-based Mediterranean Farming systems—project.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
B.H. Manuscript writing, data collection, plant and soil sampling and laboratory analysis. FL. Manuscript editing and data treatment F.B, O.K, B.Z, M.S, F.G, MF: Contributions partially in data collection and plant and soil analysis. M.L.: Methodology formulation, the manuscript writing, revision, and supervision, field management, and data collection and corresponding author. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Benalia, H., Fatima, LL., Fatma-Zohra, B. et al. Comparative assessment of agroforestry performances between pea and barley intercropping with olive tree under Mediterranean conditions. Agroforest Syst 98, 619–635 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-023-00933-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-023-00933-0