Litter decomposition rate and soil organic matter quality in a patchwork heathland of southern Norway

Abstract

Abstract. Norwegian heathland soils, although scant and shallow, are major reservoirs of carbon (C). We aimed at assessing whether vegetation cover and, indirectly, its driving factor soil drainage are good proxies for soil organic matter (SOM) composition and dynamics in a typical heathland area of southern Norway consisting in a patchwork of three different types of vegetation, dominated by Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull., Molinia caerulea (L.) Moench, or Sphagnum capillifolium (Ehrh.) Hedw. Such vegetation covers were clearly associated to microtopographic differences, which in turn dictated differences in soil moisture regime, Calluna growing in the driest sites, Sphagnum in the wettest, and Molinia in sites with intermediate moisture.Litter decomposition was followed over a period of 1 year by placing litterbags filled with biomass from each dominant species in each type of vegetation cover. The composition of the plant material and SOM was investigated using chemical methods and solid-state 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.Litter decomposition was faster for Molinia and Calluna, irrespective of the vegetation cover of the site where they were placed. Sphagnum litter decomposed very slowly, especially under Calluna, where the soil environment is by far more oxidising than under itself. In terms of SOM quality, Calluna covered areas showed the greatest differences from the others, in particular a much higher contribution from lipids and aliphatic biopolymers, apparently related to biomass composition.Our findings showed that, in the studied environment, litter decomposition rate and SOM composition are actually dependent on vegetation cover and/or soil drainage. On this basis, monitoring changes in the patchwork of vegetation types in boreal heathlands could be a reliable cost-effective way to account for climate-changeinduced modifications to SOM and its potential to last.

Sediment Reallocations due to Erosive Rainfall Events in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, Central China

“…This study investigates rainfall-triggered sediment reallocations to enable sustainable land management at catchment scale. However, the sedimentological response of a landscape is complex, because it depends on a variety of interacting physical processes, which are related to topography, climate, soil and vegetation among others (Martínez-Mena et al, 1998;Cammeraat, 2004;Puigdefábregas, 2005;Bracken & Croke, 2007;Bautista et al, 2007;Bochet, 2015;Certini et al, 2015;Marchamalo et al, 2015). The quantification of the landscape response is increasingly achieved using the concept of landscape connectivity, which describes the water-mediated sediment fluxes within a catchment (Bracken & Croke, 2007;Lexartza-Artza & Wainwright, 2011;Fryirs, 2013 (Borselli et al, 2008) to map potential sediment reallocations.…”

Evaluating the Role of a Protected Area on Hedgerow Conservation: The Case of a Spanish Cultural Landscape

“…However, the human activities can be sustainable and some strategies as mulching, cash crops, low intensity grazing, or organic farming can help to achieve the sustainability (Costantini et al, 2015;Li et al, 2016;Lu et al, 2015;Prosdocimi et al, 2016). Hedgerows contribute to improve the land management as they imitate nature strategies such as the patchy or strip plant covers (Bochet, 2015;Cerdà, 1997a;Certini et al, 2015). They have been recognised as valuable habitats for a variety of wildlife as they provide refuge and food resources for many species, some of them threatened, or rare species of high conservation status (Dover & Sparks, 2000;Wilson, 1979).…”

Agricultural land abandonment in Mediterranean environment provides ecosystem services via soil carbon sequestration

“…The acceleration of the biological and hydrological cycles after land abandonment results in recovery of soil carbon stocks as found by other studies when land was abandoned (Brevik and Lazari, 2014), forests were transformed into crops (Wasak and Drewnik, 2015), or when degraded rangelands were restored (Zucca et al, 2016). There is a positive interaction in the soil system after abandonment that favours the recovery of the biota (fauna and flora) followed by litter and organic matter, which finally improves soil quality and as a consequence the diversity and mass of the biota (Certini et al, 2015;Chen et al, 2016;Frouz, 2016).…”