Initial stages of soil formation in a riparian zone: Importance of biological agents and lithogenic inheritance in the development of the soil structure

Guénat, Claire; Bureau, Fabrice; Weber, Géraldine Bullinger; Toutain, F.

doi:10.1016/s1164-5563(10)70001-7

Cited by 20 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Previous works showed that anecic species are strongly related to soil depth (Bouché, 1972;Guenat et al, 1999;Phillipson et al, 1976). Our study confirmed that A. c. nocturna and L. terrestris prefer thick soils as already shown by Salomé et al(2011) and, by extension, drier conditions; and provide evidence that A. longa adopts a similar behaviour.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…However, their impact on the terrestrial ecosystems of floodplains remains poorly understood, especially with respect to the soil fauna. Soil organisms include many potential indicators of river restoration success but this potential has not yet been studied much (Bullinger-Weber et al, 2007;Fournier et al, 2012;Guenat et al, 1999). Among the candidates, earthworms are recognised as good bioindicators of soil conditions in alluvial ecosystems (Bullinger-Weber et al, 2012;Salomé et al, 2011) and could therefore provide useful information for monitoring of restoration projects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in relation to the perturbation gradient of a restored floodplain

Fournier

Samaritani

Shrestha

et al. 2012

Applied Soil Ecology

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a b s t r a c tLittle is known about the diversity and ecology of earthworms in floodplains, as well as their response to natural and anthropic perturbations (e.g. floods, river channelisation, floodplain restoration). We characterised the patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in the different habitats of a lowland restored floodplain in Switzerland. In addition to classical species-based metrics, such as species richness and Shannon diversity, species traits were used to calculate the community weighted means (CWMs) of traits and functional dispersion (FDis). We hypothesised that trait-based metrics would reveal clearer patterns than classical approaches. The distribution of earthworm traits varied among habitats in relation to changes in flooding frequency: poorly developed gravel bar soils most exposed to flooding were characterised by high abundance of small epigeic species and low abundance of large anecic species. Differences in anecic and endogeic earthworm community structure matched flood frequency. In agreement with our hypothesis, CWMs were more strongly correlated to environmental variables than species composition, diversity, or functional diversity. Based on these results, the ratio of the relative abundances of epigeic and anecic species, and the differences in species composition within anecic and endogeic ecological types of earthworms were identified as indicators of soil development in floodplains.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in relation to the perturbation gradient of a restored floodplain

Fournier

Samaritani

Shrestha

et al. 2012

Applied Soil Ecology

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“…It is a part of the floodplain of the Sarine River, tributary of the Aare River. The Sarine River is strongly confined between embankments except for the study area situated at 750 m above the sea level [9,23].…”

Section: Site Description and Sampling Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These sites were selected along a transect according to the vegetation type, the age of the present tree population [23], and the visual heterogeneity of alluvial deposition. Two different types of softwood forest community were chosen with three sites in each type ( Fig.…”

Section: Site Description and Sampling Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of some physicochemical and biological parameters on soil structure formation in alluvial soils

Bullinger-Weber

Bayon

Guénat

et al. 2007

European Journal of Soil Biology

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This study examines the role of abiotic (texture, calcium carbonates or iron) and biotic parameters (earthworm and enchytraeid activities) on the initial phases of soil aggregation. Our research focused on humus forms in alluvial soils, which are considered as young and heterogeneous environments. We hypothesized that the soil structure formation is determined by both the nature of the recent alluvial deposits and the soil fauna. For this purpose, six sites were chosen throughout two types of softwood forests (willow and alder forest) representing two stages of vegetation succession. Evidence of soil texture influence on aggregate stability was observed. A dominance of a coarse sand fraction caused a quick colonization of enchytraeids and epigeic earthworms while a silty texture favoured the presence of anecic earthworms, thus increasing the aggregate stabilisation. Iron forms, acting as cementing agents, were observed in the coarse silt, while calcium carbonates were equally distributed among the textural fractions. Active calcium carbonate fraction, binding organic matter with mineral components, was not found in the coarse sand fraction. In conclusion, the tree age cannot alone be used as an indicator of the humus form evolution but biological and physicochemical parameters also influence the initial steps of soil structuration.

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The role of soil in vegetated gravelly river braid plains: more than just a passive response?

Bätz

Verrecchia

Lane

2014

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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This paper reviews the role of alluvial soils in vegetated gravelly river braid plains. When considering decadal timescales of river evolution, we argue that it becomes vital to consider soil development as an emergent property of the developing ecosystem. Soil processes have been relatively overlooked in accounts of the interactions between braided river processes and vegetation, although soils have been observed on vegetated fluvial landforms. We hypothesize that soil development plays a major role in the transition (speed and pathway) from a fresh sediment deposit to a vegetated soil-covered landform. Disturbance (erosion and/or deposition), vertical sediment structure (process history), vegetation succession, biological activity and water table fluctuation are seen as the main controls on early alluvial soil evolution. Erosion and deposition processes may not only act as soil disturbing agents, but also as suppliers of ecosystem resources, because of their role in delivering and changing access (e.g. through avulsion) to fluxes of water, fine sediments and organic matter. In turn, the associated initial ecosystem may influence further fluvial landform development, such as through the trapping of fine-grained sediments (e.g. sand) by the engineering action of vegetation and the deposit stabilization by the developing aboveground and belowground biomass. This may create a strong feedback between geomorphological processes, vegetation succession and soil evolution which we summarize in a conceptual model. We illustrate this model by an example from the Allondon River (Switzerland) and identify the research questions that follow.

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Initial stages of soil formation in a riparian zone: Importance of biological agents and lithogenic inheritance in the development of the soil structure

Cited by 20 publications

References 11 publications

Patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in relation to the perturbation gradient of a restored floodplain

Patterns of earthworm communities and species traits in relation to the perturbation gradient of a restored floodplain

Influence of some physicochemical and biological parameters on soil structure formation in alluvial soils

The role of soil in vegetated gravelly river braid plains: more than just a passive response?

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