Ciliated Protozoa and Microarthropod Communities as Indicators of Soil Quality in Long-term Organically Managed Vineyards: A Case Study in the Verdicchio Terroir of Matelica (Marche, Italy)

The aim of our study was to assess the long-term effects of organically managed vineyards on soil quality by means of two indicators: protozoan ciliates and microarthropods. The study was conducted in the district of Verdicchio of Matelica (Marche, Italy), on three vineyards that were organically managed since 1992, 1998 and 2009 respectively. In each vineyard, soil samples were taken every month from March to October 2011. For microarthropods, the measured biological parameters were: abundances, QBS-ar index, number of biological and euedaphic forms and diversity indices; for ciliates: abundances and diversity indices. In total, 27 ciliate species belonging to 6 classes, 11 orders, 19 genera were identified. Species diversity (H’), evenness (J) indicate that the “older” (V92) vineyard could be considered as the most stable habitat for ciliates. Microarthropod communities were consistently characterised by the presence of biologica forms well adapted to soil such as Diplura, Pauropoda, Chilopoda and Protura. In general, QBS-ar values were higher in the “older” (V92) vineyard. Collectively, the data seem to indicate that the long-term organic management of the soil contributes to global soil quality in vineyards at least in this particular pedoclimatic area and for the investigated bioindicators