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Impact of Land Use Change and Afforestation on Soil Properties in a Mediterranean Mountain Area of Central Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Jorge Mongil-Manso

    (Faculty of Science and Arts, Catholic University of Ávila, 05005 Ávila, Spain
    Forest, Water and Soil Research Group, Spanish National Research Council, 05005 Ávila, Spain)

  • Joaquín Navarro-Hevia

    (Forest, Water and Soil Research Group, Spanish National Research Council, 05005 Ávila, Spain
    Department of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering, University of Valladolid, 34004 Palencia, Spain)

  • Roberto San Martín

    (Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute, University of Valladolid, 34004 Palencia, Spain
    Department of Statistics and Operations Research, University of Valladolid, 34004 Palencia, Spain)

Abstract

Afforestation can improve hydrological processes, such as infiltration, in basins and, therefore, reduce the impact on human populations of floods, soil erosion, landslides, droughts, and climate variation. The aim of this work was to analyze how afforestation and other changes in land use influence infiltrability and the evolution of soils. Infiltration rates, soil water repellency, and physical and chemical properties of sandy loam soils were measured in four types of land: native holm oak forest, afforested 20-year-old pine forest, shrubs, and grasslands. Non-forest covers are the result of the degradation of native oak forests for centuries, while the pine afforestation in this study took place on a perennial wet mountain pasture (cervunalito). Our results show that soil infiltration rates are much higher in pine afforestation areas (857.67 mm·h −1 ) than in holm oak forest (660.67 mm·h −1 ), grasslands (280.00 mm·h −1 ), or shrubs (271.67 mm·h −1 ). No statistically significant differences in fertility, organic matter content, bulk density, or effective porosity were found between afforestation areas and other types of cover; however, pine afforestation improved the drainage of the soil, as its infiltration rate was higher than that of the native holm oak forest.

Suggested Citation

  • Jorge Mongil-Manso & Joaquín Navarro-Hevia & Roberto San Martín, 2022. "Impact of Land Use Change and Afforestation on Soil Properties in a Mediterranean Mountain Area of Central Spain," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-23, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:7:p:1043-:d:859148
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ramos, María Concepción & Lizaga, Ivan & Gaspar, Leticia & Quijano, Laura & Navas, Ana, 2019. "Effects of rainfall intensity and slope on sediment, nitrogen and phosphorous losses in soils with different use and soil hydrological properties," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
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    Cited by:

    1. Miłosz Podwika & Krystyna Ciarkowska & Katarzyna Solek-Podwika, 2023. "Urban Grassland Afforestation as a Public Land Management Tool for Environmental Improvement: The Example of Krakow (Poland)," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-12, May.
    2. Mohammad Ghorbani & Elnaz Amirahmadi & Petr Konvalina & Jan Moudrý & Marek Kopecký & Trong Nghia Hoang, 2023. "Carbon Pool Dynamic and Soil Microbial Respiration Affected by Land Use Alteration: A Case Study in Humid Subtropical Area," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-13, February.

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