Water repellency and moisture content spatial variations under Rosmarinus officinalis and Quercus coccifera in a Mediterranean burned soil

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)

GIMENO-GARCÍA, E.

Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación, Univ., Valencia, Espagne

Fundaciò General Univ., València, Espagne

PASCUAL, J.A.

Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación, Univ., Valencia, Espagne

LLOVET, J.

Fundación Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterráneo (CEAM), Dep. d'Ecologia, Univ., Alacant, Espagne

Description :
This paper studies the influence of Rosmarinus officinalis L. and Quercus coccifera L. vegetated patches on soil water repellency (SWR) and their relationships with soil moisture content (SMC) and soil organic matter (SOM) in burned and unburned calcareous soils of a Mediterranean shrubland ecosystem, considering the first rainfall event occurred after the wildfire in Les Useres (Castellón, eastern Spain). The obtained results imply that fire caused a significant increase in SWR at R. officinalis stumps (measured by means of the water drop penetration time test, WDPT). However, at burned Q. coccifera microsites, SWR was destroyed by fire. Partial correlation analysis at burned microsites revealed that SMC and WDPT are influenced by the SOM. The hydrological and ecological implications of these results are discussed.

Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Catena (Giessen), issn : 0341-8162, 2011, vol. 85, n°. 1, p. 48-57, nombre de pages : 10, Références bibliographiques : 1 p.

Date :
2011

Editeur :
Pays édition : Allemagne, Cremlingen-Destedt, Catena

Langue :
Anglais