article · Agriculture
In semi-arid regions, conventional tillage practices can expose fragile soils to degradation, which is exacerbated by heavy environmental use. Conservation agriculture, particularly the adoption of no-till systems with mulch, offers an alternative approach to protecting natural soil resources. Field evaluations in Morocco examined the transition from conventional tillage to no-till farming across two experimental sites: Merchouch, which features vertisol soil, and Ain Sbit, which features isohumic soil. The assessment focused on soil physical properties, including structural stability, bulk density, gravimetric water content, and soil organic matter. In both locations, no-till management improved most physical soil properties, with the most pronounced benefits observed in the vertisol soil. Structural stability metrics showed substantial gains, and soil organic matter increased notably at both sites over the medium and long term, confirming the suitability of no-till practices under semi-arid conditions.
Semi-arid agricultural regions face mounting pressures from drought, erosion, and soil degradation. Demonstrating that no-till farming strengthens soil structure and increases organic matter provides land managers and agricultural planners with practical evidence for restoring fragile land. These improvements help preserve soil resources and build resilience against climate risks without relying on destructive conventional tillage.
This research provides applied field evidence relevant to farmers, agronomists, and agricultural extension services looking to deploy conservation agriculture practices in dry regions. Because the methods rely on established no-till and mulching techniques tested directly in local soils, the approach is ready for real-world implementation. The findings could also inform commercial agricultural advisory services and equipment providers promoting no-till seeding systems suited to semi-arid environments.
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Climate change, drought, erosion, water contamination resources, desertification, and loss of soil quality represent major environmental risks worldwide. Facing these risks is the most important issue for sustainable development. Conventional tillage (CT) practices seem to expose the soils of semi-arid regions, which are initially fragile, to degradation that is accentuated by the overuse of the environment. The benefits of conservation agriculture (CA) could mitigate the degradation of natural resources, particularly soils. The adaptation and transfer of the no-till (NT) system with mulch open new perspectives for the development of agriculture in semi-arid regions. The main objective of this study is to assess the impact of conservation agriculture, especially no-till (NT) system, on the physical properties of soil (structural stability (SS), bulk density (BD), gravimetric water content (θg), and soil organic matter (SOM)) compared to conventional tillage (CT). The main changes associated with the transition from a CT system to an NT system were evaluated at the experimental site, Merchouch (M13), which is typified by vertisol soil, and at the Ain Sbit (AS7) site, which is characterized by isohumic soil. Under a no-till system, most of the physical properties of the soil were improved in both sites, with a clear difference in the M13 site. Structural stability under NT showed a significant increase in both sites (fast wetting (FW), slow wetting (SW), and wet stirring (WS) improved by 88, 43, and 83% at the M13 site, respectively, against, 16, 23, and 7%, respectively, at the AS7 site). On the other hand, the SOM increased from 2.0 to 2.6% (an improvement of 28%) at AS7 and from 1.2% to 1.9% (an improvement of 52%) at M13. This research demonstrated that conservation agriculture, especially NT, improves the soil physical quality in both medium and long terms, confirming its suitability for the climatic and edaphic constraints of semi-arid areas in Morocco as well as in other parts of the world.
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DOI: 10.3390/agriculture13030683
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