RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Soil chemical properties in abandoned Mediterranean cropland after succession and oak reforestation.
A1 Cuesta Poveda, Bárbara
A1 Rey Benayas, José María
A1 Gallardo , Antonio
A1 Villar Salvador, Pedro
A1 González Espinosa, Mario
K1 Ammonium
K1 Inorganic nitrogen
K1 Nitrate
K1 Old fields
K1 Quercus ilex
K1 Soil fertility
K1 Tree planting
K1 Medio Ambiente
K1 Environmental science
AB Large extents of cropland have been abandoned in recent decades and more may be abandoned in the near future. These may undergo secondary succession or reforestation. We experimentally tested the response of soil chemical properties to secondary succession (old field) and to Quercus ilex plantation (reforested cropland) in a Mediterranean cropland that was abandoned 13 years ago. We also evaluated the relevance of previous reforestation management (four combinations of presence and absence of irrigation and shading) in addition to current environmental conditions (herbaceous community and cover of oak canopy) on soil chemistry in the reforested cropland. Carbon and NH4+–N concentrations and availability of mineral N were higher in the reforested cropland than in the old field. However, soil pH, total N, P, K and NO3−–N concentrations, mineralization rates, and available PO43−–P were similar in the reforested cropland as well as in the old field. Previous reforestation management practices, particularly irrigation, and current environmental conditions, mostly biomass and composition of the herbaceous community, affected soil chemistry. Irrigation increased K and P concentrations and NH4+–N availability. This study highlights the overall slow dynamics of soil chemistry in Mediterranean ecosystems, which has resulted in little variation of soil properties in reforested cropland after more than a decade. Reforestation can accelerate the recovery of some soil properties of abandoned cropland in comparison with secondary succession, but these effects will be more noticeable in longer time periods.
SN 1146-609X
YR 2012
FD 2012
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10017/38493
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10017/38493
LA eng
NO Ministerio de Ciencia y Educación, España
DS MINDS@UW
RD 28-abr-2024