Abstract
Background and aims
Our objectives were to evaluate changes in soil aggregate stability along a successional gradient, located in severely eroded Mediterranean gully bed ecosystems and to identify predictors of soil aggregate stability variations among several soil, root traits and plant community characteristics.
Methods
We selected 75 plots in gully beds, representing five successional stages that differ in plant community composition, dominated by herbs, shrubs or trees according to successional stage. In each plot, we measured soil aggregate stability, basic soil characteristics, root traits and plant diversity indices.
Results
Soil aggregate stability increased along the successional gradient, being thrice higher in tree-dominated communities as compared to grass-dominated communities. This increase was mainly driven by soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation. In early successional stages showing low SOC (below 24 g.kg−1 or 12 g.kg−1 in some cases), fine sand content and the percentage of fine roots acted as co-drivers enhancing soil aggregate stability while silt content decreased it.
Conclusion
Plant succession in severely eroded Mediterranean gully bed ecosystems is accompanied by a strong stabilization of soil aggregates, mainly driven by SOC accumulation and for early successional stages, by soil granulometry and root traits as co-drivers. Stimulating succession thus appears as a promising restoration strategy for severely eroded ecosystems.
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Abbreviations
- SOC:
-
Soil organic carbon
- CaCO3 :
-
Soil calcium carbonate
- RMD:
-
Root mass density
- RLD:
-
Root length density
- SRL:
-
Specific root length
- Herbs, Shrub, STree, TTree:
-
Plant communities respectively dominated by herbs, shrubs, small trees (height < 2 m) and tall trees (height > 2 m)
- Forest:
-
Stabilized forested slopes used as a control
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Acknowledgments
We thank Electricité de France (EDF), Agence de l’eau Rhône, Méditerranée et Corse, Région Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur and European Union (FEDER program « L’Europe s’engage en PACA avec le Fonds Européen de Développement Régional ») for financial support. We also thank Astrid Morel, Fabien Candy, Nathan Daumergue, Alain Bédécarrats, Sophie Labonne and Séverine Louis for their help in the fieldwork and in the laboratory. We are grateful to Eline Jongmans for her statistical help and to Luis Mérino-Martin for his comments on the final version of the manuscript. The insightful comments of the anonymous reviewers helped us to significantly improve the manuscript. Hence, we thank them for their contribution to the quality of the paper. Finally, this study was made possible by a research grant provided by the University of Grenoble Alpes.
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Appendix S1
Percentage cover of the five plant community successional stages studied dominated by herbs (Herbs); shrub; (Shrub); small trees (height <2m; STree); tall trees (>2m; TTree) and plant communities located on forested slopes (Forest). Each color represents the relative abundance of different growth forms (trees, shrubs, forbs, and grasses). Data are mean +/- standard error (n = 15 per plant community type). Kruskal and Wallis non parametric tests were run for each vegetation cover type (α = 0.05). Letters indicate significant differences between successional stages given by Mann Whitney Wilcoxon test. A total vegetative cover of above 100 % indicates that the plant community is pluristratified. (DOCX 32 kb)
Appendix S2
List of dominant plant species found in the five plant community successional stages in gully beds. Herbs; Shrub; STree; TTree: plant communities, located in gully beds, dominated by herbs, shrubs, small tress (<2m) and high trees (>2m) respectively. Forest: plant communities belonging to forested slopes. (DOCX 18 kb)
Appendix S3
Correlation matrix between soil, plant community and roots characteristics along the successional gradient (n = 75). Data are correlation coefficient r and significance levels according to Pearson correlation test (n.s non significant; * P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01; *** P < 0.001). The grey shaded parts represent the plant related parameters. (DOCX 20 kb)
Appendix S4
Interaction between soil, plant community and roots characteristics with SOC to explain soil aggregate stability variations along the successional gradient. Data are pairwise linear regression models showing the interaction between SOC and soil, plant and root characteristics to explain soil aggregate stability. Models showing a significant interaction between SOC and the “Variable 2” tested are highlighted in bold characters. Levels of significance are ns: non significant; *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; *** P < 0.001 (DOCX 21 kb)
Appendix S5
Linear regression results for repeated ANCOVA analysis. Data are estimates (Effects), standard error and p-value (P) of the tested variables in series of linear pairwise regression models (with an interaction term) with soil aggregate stability as the dependent variable, SOC as the covariate and respectively silt content, sand content and percentage of fine roots as the variables tested. Levels of significance are ns: non significant; *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; *** P < 0.001 (DOCX 19 kb)
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Erktan, A., Cécillon, L., Graf, F. et al. Increase in soil aggregate stability along a Mediterranean successional gradient in severely eroded gully bed ecosystems: combined effects of soil, root traits and plant community characteristics. Plant Soil 398, 121–137 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2647-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2647-6