The effects of farming system and soil management on floristic diversity in sloping olive groves

Abstract The effects of the farming system (conventional-organic-abandoned) and soil management (native cover crop vs tillage) on vascular plant species were analyzed in sloping olive groves (>20%) 20 different locations Andalusia, SE Spain. techniques included Organic Tillage (OT), Cover Crops (OC), Conventional (CT), Non-Tillage (CNT), Abandoned (AC) Woody (AW). Data for recorded through three line transects 30 m with a bar perpendicularly touching every 1 measuring tape. Environmental variables also at plot level to assess their influence. Dependent variables, such as abundance, richness diversity indexes studied using univariate analysis (one-way ANOVA, Kruskal–Wallis test) while multivariate statistics (ANOSIM, SIMPER, DCA) used analyzing data matrices. We found that combinations affect biological terms individual cover, diversity, family composition. Life forms distribution patterns are affected. main environmental affecting taxa those related climate characteristics, slope, age intensive land uses landscape level, including percentage artificial surfaces. lowest levels biodiversity (e.g., richness) tilled (CT = 8.1 sp. ± 2.2, OT 10.0 5.4). Surprisingly, organic (OT) very poor compared native (OC 27.9 3.0). latter, however, showed similar abandoned (AC 21.2 3.7, AW 27.2 Possible solutions increasingly uncompetitive include conversion or abandonment rewilding.