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Soil properties and perceived disturbance of grasslands subjected to mechanized military training: evaluation of an index
Author(s) -
Althoff D. P.,
Althoff P. S.,
Lambrecht N. D.,
Gipson P. S.,
Pontius J. S.,
Woodford P. B.
Publication year - 2007
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.773
Subject(s) - disturbance (geology) , species richness , environmental science , vegetation (pathology) , training (meteorology) , diversity index , bulk density , index (typography) , range (aeronautics) , soil water , soil science , ecology , agronomy , geography , geology , biology , engineering , computer science , medicine , paleontology , pathology , aerospace engineering , meteorology , world wide web
Mechanized maneuver training impacts the landscape by creating depressions, compacting soils, producing bare ground areas, transporting seeds of invasive plants, and crushing vegetation. We measured 3 physical, 13 chemical, and 2 biological soil properties and used a disturbance index (DI) based on perceptions of soil conditions on a military installation to assess the condition of 100 × 100 m plots (1 ha): 10 in 2002 and 10 in 2004. Potential DI scores range from 0 (no appreciable evidence of disturbance) to 1 (>95 per cent of the plot disturbed). Bulk density, porosity (%), and water content (%)—all at 5·1–10·0 cm depth, and nematode family richness (NFR) were significantly, negatively correlated (Spearman coefficients, r s ) with the DI of both years. The strong negative correlation ( r s = −0·69 in 2002, −0·79 in 2004) of NFR with the DI appears to reflect the status of nematode diversity and, therefore, may serve as a useful, inexpensive approach to rapidly assessing grasslands subjected to mechanized military training. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.