Soil organic matter of Iberian open woodland rangelands as influenced by vegetation cover and land management
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Pulido Fernández, Manuel; Schnabel, Sussane; Lavado Contador, J. Francisco; Miralles Mellado, Isabel; Ortega Pérez, RaúlFecha
2013-08Resumen
Spanish rangelands occupy more than 90,000 km2 of land grazed by millions of domestic and wild animals. Organic matter content of soil is an essential component for fertility and productivity in both, natural and human-induced ecosystems. Despite its importance to soil quality, soil organic carbon has been little studied in these rangelands. The main goal of this study is to assess the amounts and characteristics of soil organic matter in grazed open woodlands of SW Iberia as influenced by vegetation cover and land management. Soil properties were analysed from 22 environmental units selected from 10 farms distributed throughout the region of Extremadura being representative of different rangeland types: dehesas (wooded rangelands), scrublands of Retama sphaerocarpa and treeless grasslands. Some of the soil samples were used for a chemical fractioning of soil carbon. Farmer interviews were conducted in order to quantify livestock densities and stocking rates and to assess land manageme...
Palabra/s clave
Land use
Livestock management
Soil organic carbon
Humus fractions
Rangelands
Dehesas