Review of communities of Lygeum spartum L. in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula (western Mediterranean)

García-Fuentes, Antonio; Salazar, Carlos; Torres, Juan A.; Cano, Eusébio; Valle, Francisco

doi:10.1006/jare.2000.0756

Cited by 17 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 3 publications

(1 reference statement)

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“…Stipa for example, is better suited to cope with drought and non-uniform rainfall, whereas Lygeum seems to be more adapted to less dry conditions and more saline soils (Pugnaire and Haase 1996). According to Garcia-Fuentes et al (2001) Lygeum roots are very effective for fixing soil on steep slopes. Moreover, these estimated RSD values are only valid for entirely root-permeated soils under the crown of a plant.…”

Section: Ecological Restoration Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Root characteristics of representative Mediterranean plant species and their erosion-reducing potential during concentrated runoff

et al. 2007

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Gully erosion is an important soil degradation process in Mediterranean environments. Revegetation strategies for erosion control rely in most cases on the effects of the above-ground biomass on reducing water erosion rates, whereas the role of the below-ground biomass is often neglected. In a Mediterranean context, the aboveground biomass can temporally disappear because of fire or overgrazing and when concentrated flow erosion occurs, roots can play an important role in controlling soil erosion rates. Unfortunately, information on root characteristics of Mediterranean plants, growing on semi-natural lands, and their effects on the topsoil resistance to concentrated flow erosion is lacking. Therefore, typical Mediterranean grass, herb, reed, shrub and tree root systems of plants growing in habitats that are prone to concentrated flow erosion (i.e. in ephemeral channels, abandoned fields and steep badland slopes) are examined and their erosion-reducing potential was evaluated. Root density (RD), root length density (RLD) and root diameters are measured for 26 typical Mediterranean plant species. RD values and root diameter distribution within the upper 0.10-0.90 m of the soil profile are then transformed into relative soil detachment rates using an empirical relationship in order to predict the erosion-reducing effect of root systems during concentrated runoff. Comparing the erosion-reducing potential of different plant species allows ranking them according to their effectiveness in preventing or reducing soil erosion rates by concentrated flow. RD in the 0.10 m thick topsoil ranges between 0.13 kg m À3 for Bromus rubens (L.) and 19.77 kg m À3 for Lygeum spartum (L.), whereas RLD ranges between 0.01 km m À3 for Nerium oleander (L.) and 120.43 km m À3 for Avenula bromoides ((Gouan) H. Scholz.) Relative soil detachment rates, compared to bare soils, range between 0.3 · 10 -12 and 0.7 for the 0.10 m thick topsoil. The results show that grasses such as Helictotrichon filifolium ((Lag.) Henrard), Piptatherum miliaceum ((L.) Coss.), Juncus acutus (L.), Avenula bromoides ((Gouan) H. Scholz), Lygeum spartum (L.) and Brachypodium retusum ((Pers.) Beauv.) have the highest potential to reduce soil erosion rates by concentrated flow in the 0-0.1 m topsoil. But also shrubs such as Anthyllis cytisoides (L.) and Tamarix canariensis (Willd.), having high root densities in the topsoil, can reduce erosion rates drastically. Among the species growing in channels, Juncus acutus (L.) has the highest erosion reducing potential, whereas Phragmites australis (Cav.) is the least effective. On abandoned fields, Avenula bromoides ((Gouan) H. Scholz) and Plantago albicans (L.) are the most effective species in reducing concentrated flow erosion rates, while Thymelaea hirsuta (L. (Endl.)) and Bromus rubens (L.) perform the worst. On steep badland slopes, Helictotrichon filifolium ((Lag.) Henrard) and Anthyllis cytisoides (L.) perform the best in the analysis of erosion reducing potential, while Ononis tridentata (L.) is the least effective s...

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Section: Ecological Restoration Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Root characteristics of representative Mediterranean plant species and their erosion-reducing potential during concentrated runoff

et al. 2007

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“…The L. spartum communities of the class Salicornietea fruticosae are classified into four alliances and two orders ( Limonietalia and Limoniastretalia guyoniani) . The communities of three of the alliances classified in the Limonietalia occur in endoreic depressions of the Iberian Peninsula: the Lygeo‐Lepidion cardamines in the La Mancha region (Central Spain), the Lygeo sparti‐Limonion furfuracei in Murcia and Almeria (SE Spain), and the Limonion catalaunico‐viciosoi in the Ebro Basin of Northern Spain (Rigual‐Magallón, ; Costa & Boira, ; García‐Fuentes, Salazar, Torres, Cano, & Valle, ; Molina, Pertíñez, & De La Cruz, ; Rivas‐Martínez et al., ). Within the Iberian inland salt marshes, the floristic‐sociological recognition of three different alliances is underpinned by the occurrence of apomictic species of the genus Limonium .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A formal classification of the Lygeum spartum vegetation of the Mediterranean Region

Marcenò

Guarino

Mucina

et al. 2019

Applied Vegetation Science

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Aims We examined all available literature and some unpublished data on the We examined all available literature and some unpublished data on the grasslands dominated by Lygeum spartum from Southern Europe and North Africa to produce a formalised classification of this vegetation and to identify the main factors determining its plant species composition. Location Mediterranean Basin and Iberian Peninsula. Methods We used a dataset of 728 relevés, which were resampled to reduce unbalanced sampling effort, resulting in a dataset of 568 relevés and 846 taxa. We classified the plots by TWINSPAN, interpreted the resulting pools, and used them to develop formal definitions of phytosociological alliances characterised by L. spartum vegetation. The definitions were included in an expert system to assist automatic vegetation classification. We related the alliances to climatic factors and described their biogeographical features and ecological preferences. The floristic relationships between these alliances were analysed and visualised using distance‐based redundancy analysis. Results We defined eleven alliances of L. spartum vegetation, including the newly described Launaeo laniferae–Lygeion sparti from SW Morocco and the Noaeo mucronatae–Lygeion sparti from the Algerian highlands and NE Morocco. Biogeographical, climatic, and edaphic factors were revealed as putatively driving the differentiation between the alliances. Vegetations of clayey slopes and inland salt basins displayed higher variability in comparison with those of coastal salt marshes. Main conclusions A comprehensive formal classification, accompanied by an expert system, of the grasslands from Southern Europe and North Africa dominated by Lygeum spartum vegetation was formulated. Eleven phytosociological alliances were recognised, whose plant species composition is influenced by biogeographic, climatic, and edaphic drivers. The expert system, containing formal definitions of the phytosociological alliances, will assist in identifying the syntaxonomic position of new datasets.

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“…According to Conesa et al (2007) it may thus be also a suitable candidate for phytostabilization of acid mine tailings. It has been used as well as a fodder for domestic livestock and for rehabilitation of degraded lands -gypsum and calcareous soils (Garcia-Fuentes et al, 2001). In North Africa, it was used as raw material for manufacturing paper (FAO, 1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salt tolerance strategies of Lygeum spartum L.: A new fodder crop for Algerian saline steppes

Nedjimi¹

2009

Flora - Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants

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Review of communities of Lygeum spartum L. in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula (western Mediterranean)

Cited by 17 publications

References 3 publications

Root characteristics of representative Mediterranean plant species and their erosion-reducing potential during concentrated runoff

Root characteristics of representative Mediterranean plant species and their erosion-reducing potential during concentrated runoff

A formal classification of the Lygeum spartum vegetation of the Mediterranean Region

Salt tolerance strategies of Lygeum spartum L.: A new fodder crop for Algerian saline steppes

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