Relative efficiency of three representative matorral species in reducing water erosion at the microscale in a semi-arid climate (Valencia, Spain)

Bochet, E.; Rubio, J. L.; Poesen, Jean

doi:10.1016/s0169-555x(97)00109-8

Cited by 106 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The habitat changes in shrub communities provide a suitable growing environment for undergrowth species. Under Chinese pine, the density of grass gradually increased and then quickly vanished, which implied that the development of soil microcrust and low moisture content inhibit the colonization of plant species (Bochet et al, 1998). At the same time, communities with extreme environmental conditions do not always undergo sequential replacement of plant species (Whisenant, 1999).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relative efficiency of four representative cropland conversions in reducing water erosion: evidence from long‐term plots in the Loess hilly area, China

Huang

Chen

et al. 2006

Land Degrad Dev

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Large areas of traditional slope cropland were recently converted to other land-use types in the semiarid Loess Plateau of China. In this study, we selected four representative conversion options of slope croplands, i.e., pastureland rotated with cropland (cultivated with Medicago sativa L. and rotated with Triticum aestivum L.), shrubland and woodland (afforested with Hippophae rhamnoides L. and Pinus tabulaeformis), and grassland (native herbage Stipa breviflora) to study the effect of landuse conversion by comparing with traditional cropland. Compared with slope cropland, the relative effects of different conversion options on surface runoff and soil erosion were assessed over a 14-year measurement period. Observations showed that distinct features and consequences of vegetation succession were found among the conversion options. Plots of shrubland had the highest vegetation coverage with dense undergrowth; natural herbaceous and subshrub species gradually spread into plots of grassland resulting in higher vegetation cover. Neither bushes nor herbs colonized the plots of Pinus tabulaeformis, which resulted in a higher percentage of bare soil. Significant differences in runoff generation, sediment yield and conservation efficiencies among the selected conversion options were detected through an analyses of variance (ANOVA). Compared with cropland, total runoff and sediment decreased by 65 per cent and 95 per cent in shrubland, 41 per cent and 92Á5 per cent in grassland, 18 per cent and 77 per cent in woodland, and 12 per cent and 58 per cent in pastureland, respectively. The ranking of soil and water conservation efficiencies was shrubland > grassland > woodland > pastureland > cropland. Based on the effectiveness of soil and water conservation, shrubland and grassland are highly recommended as promising options for cropland conversion projects. However, pastureland and woodland are not suggested as potential options for slope-cropland conversion because of low soil and water conservation in the long term.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relative efficiency of four representative cropland conversions in reducing water erosion: evidence from long‐term plots in the Loess hilly area, China

Huang

Chen

et al. 2006

Land Degrad Dev

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“…Rainfall interception by shrubs might moderate those effects, though some raindrops will penetrate the canopy. Variability in interception is likely affected by shrub morphology, with densely-arranged canopies able to intercept more rainfall than those with a sparsely-arranged canopy (Archer et al, 2012;Bochet et al, 1998;Cowling and Mills, 2011). Variation in morphology also determines the ability of shrubs to retain litter (Bochet et al, 1998), likely creating small-scale, uneven distribution of litter under and around their canopy.…”

Section: Hydrological Processes In the Undisturbed Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Variability in interception is likely affected by shrub morphology, with densely-arranged canopies able to intercept more rainfall than those with a sparsely-arranged canopy (Archer et al, 2012;Bochet et al, 1998;Cowling and Mills, 2011). Variation in morphology also determines the ability of shrubs to retain litter (Bochet et al, 1998), likely creating small-scale, uneven distribution of litter under and around their canopy. Sub-canopy litter has been shown to alter the effect of raindrops by dissipating raindrop energy, thereby minimizing rainsplash that would lead to soil crusting (Geddes and Dunkerley, 1999).…”

Section: Hydrological Processes In the Undisturbed Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial patterns of infiltration vary with disturbance in a shrub-encroached woodland

Daryanto

Eldridge²,

Wang

2013

Geomorphology

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Woody plant encroachment is known to have substantial effects on a range of ecosystem processes. Research worldwide indicates that the area around shrubs and trees has higher levels of infiltration than the interspaces. Little is known, however, about the hydrological consequences of shrub removal on infiltration, and how this might be influenced by grazing. We examined the spatial patterns of infiltration across three treatments relating to shrub removal and grazing: (i) undisturbed (ungrazed, unploughed), (ii) grazed but unploughed, and (iii) grazed and ploughed. In general we found that disturbance was associated with a greater cover of bare soil but lower infiltrability, our laboratory-based measure of infiltration. At the undisturbed site, bare soil was patchy and localized, with an autocorrelation range or connectivity of 1.4 m. The autocorrelation range of infiltrability at this site (A0 = 3 m) was larger than would be predicted from the size of the shrub canopy, and this was attributed to the presence of a well-developed understorey layer and biological soil crust community. At both grazed sites, infiltration was confined to the immediate canopy area of the remaining shrubs (A0 = 1.2 m in the unploughed-grazed site). Additionally, there was increasing connectivity of bare soil with disturbance, up to 6.8 m at the ploughed-grazed site. With increasing disturbance, resource-rich shrub patches are likely to become more developed, further reinforcing their growth and persistence at the expense of the bare interspaces. Our results indicate the importance of shrubs for maintaining landscape connectivity, and the long-term unsustainable practice of removal by ploughing, which is likely to promote shrub dominance rather than suppression.

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“…However, few were conducted at individual plant scale (De Baets et al, 2007), on which we could relate such effects to plant morphology and thereby provide necessary information to select suitable plant species in terms of plant morphology for vegetation restoration in arid and semiarid environments. Moreover, the existing studies at individual scale were mainly concentrated in Mediterranean landscapes (Bochet et al, 1998(Bochet et al, , 2006Casermeiro et al, 2004). In these studies of individual plant scale, small runoff plots (<1 m 2 ) was often used to monitor runoff and soil loss.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of three plant species with different morphologies on water runoff and soil loss in a dry-warm river valley, SW China

et al. 2008

Forest Ecology and Management

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Relative efficiency of three representative matorral species in reducing water erosion at the microscale in a semi-arid climate (Valencia, Spain)

Cited by 106 publications

References 7 publications

The relative efficiency of four representative cropland conversions in reducing water erosion: evidence from long‐term plots in the Loess hilly area, China

The relative efficiency of four representative cropland conversions in reducing water erosion: evidence from long‐term plots in the Loess hilly area, China

Spatial patterns of infiltration vary with disturbance in a shrub-encroached woodland

Influence of three plant species with different morphologies on water runoff and soil loss in a dry-warm river valley, SW China

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