Semiarid Mediterranean agroecosystems need the implementation of sustainable land management
(SLM) practices in order to maintain acceptable levels of soil organic matter (SOM). The application of
SLM practices helps to maintain soil structure and physical-chemical protection of soil organic carbon
(SOC), hence improving soil carbon sequestration and mitigating CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. In an
organic, rain-fed almond (Prunus dulcis Mill., var. Ferragnes) orchard under reduced tillage (RT), as the
habitual management practice during the 14 years immediately preceding the experiment, we studied
the effect of two agricultural management practices on soil aggregate distribution and SOC stabilization
after four years of implementation. The implemented practices were (1) reduced tillage with a mix of
Vicia sativa L. and Avena sativa L. as green manure (RTG) and (2) no-tillage (NT). Four aggregate size classes
were differentiated by wet sieving (large and small macroaggregates, microaggregates, and the silt plus
clay fraction), and the microaggregates occluded within small macroaggregates (SMm) were isolated. In
addition, three organic C fractions were separated within the small macroaggregates and microaggregates,
using a density fractionation method: free light fraction (free LF-C), intra-aggregate
particulate OM (iPOM-C), and organic C associated with the mineral fraction (mineral-C). The results
show that the combination of reduced tillage plus green manure (RTG) was the most-efficient SLM
practice for SOC sequestration. The total SOC increased by about 14% in the surface layer (0–5 cm depth)
when compared to RT. Furthermore, green manure counteracted the effect of tillage on soil aggregate
rupture. The plant residue inputs from green manure and their incorporation into the soil by reduced
tillage promoted the formation of new aggregates and activated the subsequent physical-chemical
protection of OC. The latter mechanism occurred mainly in the fine iPOM-C occluded within
microaggregates and mineral-C occluded within small macroaggregates fractions, which together
contributed to an increase of up to 30% in the OC concentration in the bulk soil. No-tillage favored the OC
accumulation in the mineral-C within the small macroaggregates and in the fine iPOM-C occluded within
microaggregates in the surface layer, and in the mineral-C occluded within the small macroaggregates
and microaggregates at 5–15cm depth, but four years of cessation of tillage were not enough to
significantly increase the total OC in the bulk soil.