Multi-scale evaluation of soil functional indicators for the assessment of water and soil retention in Mediterranean semiarid landscapes

Abstract

This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit:

Assessing ecosystem function of restoration plantings in south-eastern Australia

“…McIntyre and Tongway (2005) also found that the stability index of the LFA did not decline significantly with grazing until a heavily grazed state was achieved. Similarly, Mayor and Bautista (2012) found the stability index differed between only the most contrasting soil conditions in Mediterranean semi-arid steppes.…”

“…In a reserve in semi-arid steppes in Spain, LFA indices were correlated with the vegetation index NDVI, although the explained variance was low (García-Gómez and Maestre, 2011). Also in the semi-arid steppes of Spain, Mayor and Bautista (Mayor and Bautista, 2012) found reasonable correlation between the LFA infiltration index and actual measures of infiltration at different spatial scales, but poor correlation between soil stability scores and measures of stability. They did not measure nutrient cycling.…”

Plant-soil interactions in Mediterranean forest and shrublands: impacts of climatic change

“…In slopes of more arid Mediterranean areas the variability of water and nutrients availability is related to the distribution of vegetation patches with respect to bare soil patches that can be considered as runoff sinks and sources, respectively (Boix-Fayos et al 1998;Kutiel et al 1998;Ruiz-Sinoga and Martínez-Murillo 2009;Mayor et al 2009;Mayor and Bautista 2012;Gabarrón-Galeote et al 2012;Merino-Martin et al 2012). But some few studies have not observed these relationships so clearly (González-Pelayo et al 2010).…”

The Role of Plants in the Effects of Global Change on Nutrient Availability and Stoichiometry in the Plant-Soil System

“…In this process, the most drought-resistant plants are selected and constitute patches in the middle of bare soil (Ochoa-Hueso et al, 2011;Ruiz-Sinoga et al, 2011). The soil variability of water and nutrient availability are related to the distribution of vegetation patches with respect to bare soil patches, which can be considered as runoff sinks and sources, respectively (Boix-Fayos et al, 1998;Kutiel et al, 1998;Mayor et al, 2009;Ruiz-Sinoga and Martínez Murillo, 2009;Gabarrón-Galeote et al, 2012;Mayor and Bautista, 2012;Merino-Martin et al, 2012). Thus, soil nutrients and water availability are higher in soils with higher infiltration capacity and biological activity that coincides with vegetation patches throughout the slopes (Maestre and Cortina, 2003;Agra and Ne'eman 2012).…”