Effects of moss restoration on soil erosion and soil water content in a temperate vineyard

The study took place in a vineyard south of Fellbach, which is situated in southwestern Germany, approximately 10 km northeast of Stuttgart. We set up three treatments under the vines: moss restoration (moss), bare soil (bare), and cover crops (grass), each with four replicates. The bare treatment was set up by completely weeding the soil. The grass treatment utilizes the existing planted cover crops without additional preparation. The moss treatment uses artificially grown moss mats with a mixture of mosses.To analyse the effect of moss restoration on soil erosion and soil water content, three rainfall simulations were conducted at three measurement times: April 13-14, June 14-15, and October 24-25, 2022. Surface runoff and sediment discharge were measured using micro-scale runoff plots (ROPs, 40 x 40 cm) for each treatment. The Tübingen rainfall simulator, modified with a pavilion for wind protection and an adjusted fall height of 2 meters, was used. It featured a Lechler 490.808.30.CE nozzle set to a rainfall intensity of 45 mm h^-1 for 30 minutes [dataset_erosion_vineyard].Soil water content was measured with biocrust wetness probes (BWP) from UP GmbH, Cottbus, Germany for each rainfall simulation in the upper 5 mm of the soil surface underneath the respective vegetation. BWPs measure electrical conductivity, which was temperature-corrected and calibrated to a gravimetric water content (g g^-1) [dataset_soilwatercontent_vineyard].<br>