Orchards and vineyards are among the most widespread perennial cropping systems worldwide, shaping landscapes, rural economies, and cultural heritage. Their soils provide essential functions for productivity and resilience, but are increasingly challenged by intensive management, land degradation, and climate variability. At the same time, these systems offer unique opportunities to enhance soil health, sequester carbon, and support biodiversity through innovative management practices.
This session invites contributions on soil processes, management practices, and ecosystem services in orchards and vineyards across diverse climatic zones. We welcome studies on:
- soil organic carbon, nutrient cycling, and microbial activity in perennial crop soils,
- management strategies such as cover crops, reduced tillage, mulching, or organic amendments,
- monitoring approaches including spectroscopy, isotopic methods, and remote sensing,
- modelling of soil–plant–climate interactions and scenario analysis for sustainable management,
- frameworks and composite indicators for assessing ecosystem services, trade-offs, and synergies.
We particularly encourage integrative contributions that bridge experimentation, monitoring, modelling, and stakeholder perspectives. By gathering case studies and methodologies across regions and disciplines, this session aims to foster a holistic understanding of how to sustain soil functions in perennial cropping systems under evolving environmental and societal demands.