A demonstration area in the Langhe-Roero and Monferrato vineyards (Piemonte, NW Italy): the Cannona Experimental Site

The Langhe-Roero and Monferrato vineyard landscape ) became a World Heritage Site (WHS) in 2014. It is a winegrowing area located in the Piemonte region, in the North-West Italy. The UNESCO awarded the area being an outstanding example of land-use, of cultures, and of human interaction with the environment. Erosion, landslides, decrease of carbon content and compaction are the major threats affecting the soil recognized by the European Union. The hilly vineyards of the Langhe-Roero and Monferrato area are particularly vulnerable to soil erosion and landslides. The soil and crop management practices have an influence on these menaces. For example, the land leveling works during the vineyard plantation, the orientation of the vine-rows along the slope, and tillage and maintenance of bare soil in the inter-rows expose the soil to degradation processes. Furthermore, extreme rainfalls events engender gully erosion processes and intense runoff , which in turn, are often related to soil-slips and mud flows. . Relevant hydrological soil-slips and mud flows struck the Langhe-Roero and Monferrato hilly area in 1977, in 1994 and in October 2014. Since 2000 IMAMOTER collected hydrological (?) data from the Cannona Erosion Plots, within the Tenuta Cannona Vine and Wine Experimental Centre of Regione Piemonte.It is located in the southern area of the Monferrato, within the WHS Here, rainfall, runoff and soil erosion are monitored under natural rainfall conditions on three field plots. The vines aligned in rows along the slope., , The soil of the inter-rows of the plots are managed with deep (xx cm) tillage, reduced tillage (xx cm), and controlled grass cover. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of agricultural management practices and tractor traffic on soil degradation processes in vineyards. The dataset collected since now include measurements for more than 200 runoff and over 70 soil loss events. Periodicical measurements of physical and hydrological characteristics of the soil are carried out on the three plots. The analysis of data collected in the Cannona Experimental Site show that the use of permanent grass cover in the inter-rows reduces yearly and seasonal runoff and soil losses . According to the results of the analysis of the data the reduced tillage gives the highest soil degradation in term of soil losses , soil compaction, and water infiltration. Grass cover is particularly effective in reducing runoff and soil erosion during summer storms. The monitoring activities at the Cannona Experimental Site are still underway to improve the understanding of the soil management effects on soil hydrology, erosion and landslides triggering in sloping vineyards. The long term data collect in the Cannona testing site can be used in multidisciplinary approach to investigate interactions among land use, soil management, and natural processes. The data recorded on experimental plots can be extended to small basin scale to study effect of different soil management technique on soil conservation and hydrological protection on larger similar area Theses studies became particularly important for the water and soil conservation in the vine-growing systems considering the increase in rainfall intensity the climate changes are engendering.