Premium
Environmental Factors Controlling Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Two Contrasting Mediterranean Climatic Areas of Southern Spain
Author(s) -
Willaarts Bárbara A.,
Oyonarte Cecilio,
MuñozRojas Miriam,
Ibáñez Juan José,
Aguilera Pedro A.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
land degradation and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1099-145X
pISSN - 1085-3278
DOI - 10.1002/ldr.2417
Subject(s) - soil carbon , environmental science , soil water , mediterranean climate , grassland , land use , carbon stock , total organic carbon , forestry , vegetation (pathology) , soil science , climate change , geography , agroforestry , agronomy , ecology , biology , medicine , pathology
Managing soil carbon requires accurate estimates of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and its dynamics, at scales able to capture the influence of local factors on the carbon pool. This paper develops a spatially explicit methodology to quantify SOC stocks in two contrasting regions of Southern Spain: Sierra Norte de Sevilla (SN) and Cabo de Gata (CG). Also, it examines the relationship between SOC stocks and local environmental factors. Results showed that mean SOC stocks were 4·3 kg m −2 in SN and 3·0 kg m −2 in CG. Differences in SOC in both sites were not significant, suggesting that factors other than climate have a greater influence on SOC stocks. A correlation matrix revealed that SOC has the highest positive correlation with clay content and soil depth. Based on the land use, the largest SOC stocks were found in grassland soils (4·4 kg m −2 in CG and 5·0 kg m −2 in SN) and extensive crops (3·0 kg m −2 in CG and 5·0 kg m −2 in SN), and the smallest under shrubs (2·8 kg m −2 in CG and 3·2 kg m −2 in SN) and forests soils (4·2 kg m −2 in SN). This SOC distribution is explained by the greatest soil depth under agricultural land uses, a common situation across the Mediterranean, where the deepest soils have been cultivated and natural vegetation mostly remains along the marginal sites. Accordingly, strategies to manage SOC stocks in southern Spain will have to acknowledge its high pedodiversity and long history of land use, refusing the adoption of standard global strategies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.