EXPERIMENTAL PLOTS – HILLSLOPE PLOTS
Rainfall, runoff and soil losses caused by natural rainfall events were monitored since 2000 at the “Tenuta Cannona Experimental Vine and Wine Centre of Regione Piemonte”, located in Alto Monferrato, Northern Italy (44°40’ N, 8°37’ E). Measurements were carried out on the Cannona Erosion Plots, which represent portions of a typical hilly vineyard in the wine production area of the Piemonte region (NW Italy):
- alpine sublitoranean climate, average yearly rainfall » 850 mm
- elevation 290 m, south-east aspect, slope » 15%
- loam soil texture
Each monitored field-size plot is a 1221 m2 portion of a vineyard. Different cultivation techniques were adopted on the soil between the vine rows of each plot:
Since 2011, RT has been replaced with conventional tillage with 10-meters grassed strip at the bottom of each inter-row (ST).
Each plot was hydraulically bounded. Runoff and sediments were collected at the bottom of each plot by a channel: runoff is measured by means of a tipping-bucket device, and a portion of the runoff-sediment mixture is sent to a sampling tank. Climate data are available from a weather station placed in the Centre.
You can find further information in the Documentation and Publication sections.
Hillslope plots