Soil water repellency in rangelands of Extremadura (Spain) and its relationship with land management

Schnabel, Susanne; Fernández, Manuel Pulido; Contador, Joaquín Francisco Lavado

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2011.11.006

Cited by 39 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 34 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In other agro‐silvo‐pastoral systems in the Mediterranean region, such as holm oak woodlands in southern Spain, mosses are not only common features of the ecosystem but highly abundant, e.g. up to 87% of total cover, particularly in grazed areas (Schnabel et al ). Moreover, the increase and dominance of fruticose lichens after livestock removal in the region contrast with results from other drylands, such as grassy woodlands in southern Australia (Read et al ) and open grasslands in central México (Concostrina‐Zubiri et al ) where mosses can be the dominant component in biocrust recovery with time.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Grazing or Not Grazing: Implications for Ecosystem Services Provided by Biocrusts in Mediterranean Cork Oak Woodlands

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Livestock grazing is one of the most common practices in managed woodlands affecting the abundance and diversity of plant and soil communities. While grazing effects have been studied thoroughly in vascular plants, little is known about grazing consequences for soil lichens and mosses ("biocrusts") in managed woodlands. However, these complex communities have critical contributions to soil functioning in drylands. We evaluated grazing effects on biocrust abundance and functional composition in Mediterranean cork-oak woodlands under long-term grazing and after 7 and 17 years of grazing exclusion. We found 4 main groups in the region regarding the functional trait "growth form": fruticose and foliose lichens, and short and tall mosses. Each group presented different water absorption and retention capacity, and showed group-specific effects on soil water and temperature.Fruticose lichens were the most sensitive group to grazing, decreasing dramatically in cover with grazing (~7 times). Also, this group presented higher water retention capacity (~19 h), together with a consistent reducing effect on soil temperature along the grazing gradient (up to 0.9º C). The shift in biocrust abundance and functional composition under grazing pressure have direct consequences in microclimate regulation, and is likely to influence other ecosystem processes such as CO 2 fixation, soil surface protection and habitat provision. In particular, microclimate regulation may affect cork-oak regeneration processes, which is one of the main concerns in managed woodlands.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Grazing or Not Grazing: Implications for Ecosystem Services Provided by Biocrusts in Mediterranean Cork Oak Woodlands

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Morgan and Smith (1980) found that human trampling is an important factor determining soil erosion. However, very little research has been done on the impact of human trampling as much of the research has focused on animal trampling Schnabel et al, 2013). Eldridge (1998) found that trampling on biological crusts contributes to high erosion rates, and Sarah and Zonana (2015) demonstrated the impact of livestock on runoff and sediment yields.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Soil erosion in sloping vineyards assessed by using botanical indicators and sediment collectors in the Ruwer-Mosel valley

Rodrigo‐Comino

Quiquerez

Follain

et al. 2016

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Soils in the catchment have a high bulk density (≈ 1.5 g cm −3 ) are poor in nutrients and have low organic matter conten (≈ 3 %) except below tree cover where it is higher in the upper 5 cm (Schnabel et al, 2013b). Roots are concentrated in the upper soil layer (Moreno et al, 2005), favoring the higher porosity (≈ 45 %) of the topsoil.…”

Section: General Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate and topographic controls on simulated pasture production in a semiarid Mediterranean watershed with scattered tree cover

Lozano‐Parra

Maneta

Schnabel

2014

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Natural grasses in semiarid rangelands constitute an effective protection against soil erosion and degradation, are a source of natural food for livestock and play a critical role in the hydrologic cycle by contributing to the uptake and transpiration of water. However, natural pastures are threatened by land abandonment and the consequent encroachment of shrubs and trees as well as by changing climatic conditions. In spite of their ecological and economic importance, the spatiotemporal variations of pasture production at the decadal-century scales over whole watersheds are poorly known. We used a physically based, spatially distributed ecohydrologic model applied to a 99.5 ha semiarid watershed in western Spain to investigate the sensitivity of pasture production to climate variability. The ecohydrologic model was run using a 300-year-long synthetic daily climate data set generated using a stochastic weather generator. The data set reproduced the range of climatic variations observed under the current climate. Results indicated that variation of pasture production largely depended on factors that also determined the availability of soil moisture such as the temporal distribution of precipitation, topography, and tree canopy cover. The latter is negatively related with production, reflecting the importance of rainfall and light interception, as well as water consumption by trees. Valley bottoms and flat areas in the lower parts of the catchment are characterized by higher pasture production but more interannual variability. A quantitative assessment of the quality of the simulations showed that ecohydrologic models are a valuable tool to investigate long-term (century scale) water and energy fluxes, as well as vegetation dynamics, in semiarid rangelands.

show abstract

Soil water repellency in rangelands of Extremadura (Spain) and its relationship with land management

Cited by 39 publications

References 34 publications

Grazing or Not Grazing: Implications for Ecosystem Services Provided by Biocrusts in Mediterranean Cork Oak Woodlands

Grazing or Not Grazing: Implications for Ecosystem Services Provided by Biocrusts in Mediterranean Cork Oak Woodlands

Soil erosion in sloping vineyards assessed by using botanical indicators and sediment collectors in the Ruwer-Mosel valley

Climate and topographic controls on simulated pasture production in a semiarid Mediterranean watershed with scattered tree cover

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About