Quantifying the contribution of the root system of alpine vegetation in the soil aggregate stability of moraine

Hudek, Csilla; Stanchi, Silvia; D’Amico, Michele; Freppaz, Michèle

doi:10.1016/j.iswcr.2017.02.001

Cited by 45 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Most roots were very fine or fine roots (< 0.5-1.5 mm in diameter) on all sites during the 2000 and 2017 surveys, which is typical of most alpine species 10,23,54 . Root length density was lower on the control sites compared to ski runs and a lower RLD was measured in lower diameter classes and higher in higher diameter classes for control sites, as the soil conditions on the ski runs inhibit the growth of species with elaborate taproot morphology.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Mid and long-term ecological impacts of ski run construction on alpine ecosystems

Hudek

Barni

Stanchi

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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The proliferation of ski run construction is a worldwide trend. The machine-grading of slopes involved during ski run construction changes the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil, having significant long-term ecological impact on the environment. Establishing and developing plant communities in these affected areas is crucial in rehabilitating the biotic and abiotic soil environment, while also improving slope stability and reducing the risk of natural hazards. This study evaluates changes in plant-soil properties and the long-term effects of machine-grading and subsequent restoration of ski runs so as to contribute to formulating the best practices in future ski run constructions. Study plots were established in 2000 and re-surveyed in 2017 on ski runs, which had been machine-graded and hydroseeded in the 1990s. Vegetation, root trait and soil surveys were carried out on ski run plots and compared to paired, undisturbed control sites off the ski runs. Plant cover remained unchanged on the ski-runs over time but plant richness and diversity considerably increased, reaching similar levels to undisturbed vegetation. Plant composition moved towards more semi-natural stages, showing a reduction in seeded plants with a comparable increase in the cover of colonizing native species. Root trait results were site-specific showing great variations between the mid and long-term after-effects of machine-grading and revegetation when compared to undisturbed sites. Under long-term management, the soil pH was still higher and the organic C content still lower in the ski runs than in the undisturbed sites, as the aggregate stability. The standard actions applied (machine-grading, storage and re-use of topsoil, hydroseeding of commercial seed mixtures, application of manure soon after seeding and low-intensity grazing) allowed the ecosystem to partially recover in three decades, and even if the soil has still a lower chemical and physical fertility than the undisturbed sites, the plant species composition reveals a satisfactory degree of renaturalization.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Mid and long-term ecological impacts of ski run construction on alpine ecosystems

Hudek

Barni

Stanchi

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…The reason is partly related to warming-induced decline in the aboveground biomass (Figure 1). The aboveground sections of plants can decrease the energy of raindrops and runoff (Hudek et al 2017) and consequently protect soil aggregates from disruption. Among different size fractions of water-stable aggregates, OC, TN and TP contents generally increased with increasing aggregate sizes (Figure 2), indicating that larger water-stable aggregates constituted the predominant nutrient pools of C, N and P. According to the hierarchical theory, microaggregates and silt + clay fractions are bound together into macroaggregates by organic binding agents (Tisdall andOades 1982, Six et al 2004).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Warming impacts on carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus distribution in soil water-stable aggregates

Guan¹,

An²,

Liu³

et al. 2018

Plant Soil Environ.

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A five-year (2010–2015) field experiment was conducted to investigate warming impacts on organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) contents and their ratios in bulk soil and soil water-stable aggregates in an alpine meadow of the Tibetan Plateau. Compared with unwarmed control, warming had no significant effects on OC, TN and TP contents and their ratios in bulk soil. The contents of OC, TN and TP associated with macroaggregates and microaggregates decreased, whereas those associated with silt + clay fractions significantly increased. The C:N and C:P ratios in macro- and microaggregates and silt + clay fractions decreased, with significant differences for C:P ratio in microaggregates and C:N and C:P ratios in silt + clay fractions. The results indicated that C, N and P were protected chemically in silt- and clay-size fractions under warming, which offset the loss of C, N and P protected physically by macro- and microaggregates. Both physically and chemically protected C decomposition proceeded relatively more rapidly or accumulated relatively more slowly than did N and P. Our results suggest that C, N and P distributions within soil aggregate size fractions influence their net changes in bulk soil under future climate change scenarios.

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“…Moreover, root systems are of substantial importance for soil stabilization, since roots increase the effective cohesion of soil particles by the excretion of exudates (e.g. Gyssels et al, 2005; Hudek et al, 2017a; Hudek et al, 2017b; Pintaldi et al, 2018). Pioneering plants such as Epilobium fleischeri can be species with a great rooting depth and an intense rhizome spreading (Figure 9).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid decrease of soil erosion rates with soil formation and vegetation development in periglacial areas

Musso

Ketterer

Greinwald

et al. 2020

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Quantifying the contribution of the root system of alpine vegetation in the soil aggregate stability of moraine

Cited by 45 publications

References 38 publications

Mid and long-term ecological impacts of ski run construction on alpine ecosystems

Mid and long-term ecological impacts of ski run construction on alpine ecosystems

Warming impacts on carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus distribution in soil water-stable aggregates

Rapid decrease of soil erosion rates with soil formation and vegetation development in periglacial areas

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