The long-term use of vineyards and their renewal causes numerous chemical changes in the bioavailable copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) levels, organic carbon and microbial properties of the soil. However, there are few works with an approach to the use of vineyards in subtropical soils. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the relationship between physical-chemical properties, microbial basal respiration, activity, richness, and diversity from vineyards and nearby forest reference soils in three different areas in southern Brazil. Each area underwent three treatments: old cultivation, i.e., a well-established vineyard; renewed vineyard; and reference, a native forest located adjacent to the vineyards. The physical-chemical properties clay content, moisture, pH, organic matter (OM), carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) level; the basal respiration (BR), microbial biomass Carbon (MBC), microbial biomass Nitrogen (MBN), hydrolysis of fluorescein diacetate (FDA), microbial quotient (qMic), and metabolic quotient (qCO2); and microbial richness and Shannon diversity index were determined. The organic C level differently influenced the microbial activity and richness in each of the three experimental areas. The change in microbial diversity indexes impacted soil biological activity in two locations. Vineyard renewal promotes the reduction of Cu (- 48.8%) and zinc (- 20%) bioavailability and increases microbial diversity in subtropical soils in southern Brazil.

The use of cover crops and the adoption of no-tillage are essential conservation practices to increase carbon and nitrogen stocks and increase soil microbial activity. However, in lowland areas cultivated with irrigated rice, there is a large gap on the effects of no-tillage with long-term cover crops on soil attributes, crop responses and the effect of the system fertilization. The aim of this work was to evaluate the long-term adoption of cover crops on soil microbial activity, soil carbon stock and on the response of irrigated rice to system fertilization. Treatments consisted of fallow-conventional, fallow-no tillage, Annual Ryegrass, Oat, Ornithphus micranthus and Lotus cornicultaus. In the sub-plots, system and conventional fertilization per crop were compared. The experiment was conducted in southern Brazil in an Entisol and started in the 1996/97 crop season. Cover crops associated with the use of no-tillage increases basal respiration (+ 31%) of the soil, β-glucosidase activity (+ 259%), and soil carbon and nitrogen stocks. Urease activity increased by an average of 41% in no-tillage under cover crops compared to the conventional system under fallow, with the exception of ryegrass. System fertilization promoted higher dry matter production (+ 130%) in grasses and a lower increase (+ 23%) in winter legumes. The use of long-term cover crops promoted higher rice productivity (+ 9%). In this way, the association of cover crops and no-tillage increases carbon and nitrogen stocks, the biological activity of the soil and makes possible the system fertilization in lowlands, with positive effects on productivity.