Soil degradation by land use change in an agropastoral area in Sardinia (Italy)

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)

ZUCCA, C.

Dep. of Territorial Enginering-Nucleo Ricerca Desertificazione, Univ., Sassari, Italie

CANU, A.

Inst. of Biometeorology, National Research Council, Sassari, Italie

PREVITALI, F.

Dep. of Environmental Science, Univ., Milano, Italie

Description :
In recent decades the clearing of Mediterranean maquis along with the creation of new pastures has been a major factor of land degradation in Sardinia (Italy). Consequently, tillage and water erosion intensified over a wide area. This work assesses the impacts of land use change on soil properties in a representative area of central-eastern Sardinia. Paired forest and pasture sampling sites were selected in relation to present land use, land suitability, and land use history. Different soil properties were considered: physical, chemical, biological, and micromorphological. The comparison of forest and pasture soils showed a significant soil loss (in terms of soil thickness), and a clear decrease in organic carbon storage. An increase in bulk density and a change in microporosity and its vertical distribution were also observed, respectively by field measurements and micromorphological quantification on digital images.

Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Catena (Giessen), issn : 0341-8162, 2010, vol. 83, n°. 1, p. 46-54, nombre de pages : 9, Références bibliographiques : 45 ref.

Date :
2010

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

Langue :
Anglais