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Vegetation response to conditions caused by different soil‐preparation techniques applied to afforestation in semiarid abandoned farmland
Author(s) -
Navarro F. B.,
Ripoll M. A.,
Jiménez M. N.,
De Simón E.,
Valle F.
Publication year - 2006
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.695
Subject(s) - vegetation (pathology) , environmental science , edaphic , afforestation , silt , surface runoff , quadrat , abundance (ecology) , hydrology (agriculture) , soil science , soil water , ecology , agroforestry , geology , shrub , biology , medicine , paleontology , geotechnical engineering , pathology
Abstract Twelve soil‐preparation techniques used in afforestation were applied and 16 environmental variables were measured to test their effects on vegetation abundance, diversity, and cover in semiarid abandoned farmland located in southeastern Spain. The soil‐preparation techniques consisted of punctual treatments—making a hole and constructing a plantation bench with different types of machinery; linear treatments—making furrows along contour lines; and surface treatments—that prepare the soil in general all over the plantation surface. Variables measured were the surface and volume affected by the soil‐preparation treatments, distance from sample quadrats to the remnants of natural vegetation, surface runoff estimated by slope angle, and some edaphic characteristics such as gravel content, active lime, CaCO 3 , phosphorus, oxidizable organic matter, total soil nitrogen, pH, potassium, salinity, and clay, silt and sand content. The multivariate contrasts obtained demonstrated the existence of a significant relationship between species, samples and environmental variables. Both the distance of the quadrats from the remnants of natural vegetation and the volume of soil removed in different treatments were very weighty variables in the explanation of the variance of data, negatively affecting overall vegetation development. The accumulation or loss of surface runoff and the CaCO 3 content in soil were also important variables to explain abundance and diversity data. However, not all the species responded to the variables analysed in the same way. Identification of non‐uniform spatial patterns that significantly affect vegetation suggests that afforestation policies and conservation and management strategies in these semiarid abandoned lands should always take into consideration the quality of the whole landscape. Voluminous soil treatments for afforestation should be avoided. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.