Living mulch provides numerous benefits: it limits the need for weed management; it guarantees a constant soil cover; mulching species can provide accessory agroecological services and also improve soil fertility; some mulching species are edible and can provide a secondary income.

Certain selection criteria should be followed to ensure the success of living mulch:

• Strong vegetative aptitude (quickly cover the soil, competing with other weeds and creating a stable soil cover in the shortest possible time).

• Shallow and fibrous root system. The roots of the living mulch should not interfere with the main crop development. Mulch roots must exploit shallower niches for water and nutrient uptake.

• Small size. Especially in young orchards, the mulch species should have a low canopy, close to the soil surface, to avoid competition for light with the fruit trees.

• Perennial habitus. The soil cover has to be continuous over the year, and the mulch species has to remain alive over the seasons to avoid other species taking over, or growing through the mulch.

• Summer vegetative rest. Especially in dry areas, or when irrigation is not available, species with a double stasis (summer and winter) are preferable.

• Flexible winter stasis. To overcome periods with hard cold, but also to allow vegetative growth whenever soil temperature exceeds 4-6 °C.

• High adaptability to local pedoclimatic conditions (select spontaneous species locally available, or local varieties of cultivated species).