Interactions between soils and vegetation along a catena in semiarid ecosystems (El Ardal, Murcia)

Abstract

In this work present the results obtainet in a sampling over vegetal cover, physiques and chemistry soil properties and the erosion and runoff rate, in a catena longitudinal of the pente and with three types of the land use: matorral, abandonet and growing. The results suggest that the abandonet field possess characteristic that favour the recovery as much of the vegetal cover as the soil properties loss after the ploughing. The phitosocilogic inventory shwo a satisfactory vegetal colonitation and as much the runoff rate as the erosion rate, suggest that the area acting like a receiver of runoff and sediement exported of the matorral placed in upper topographic position. The elevated stony, because of the fragmentation of the limestone crust after the ploughing, explained, better than the physiques and chemistry soil properties, the small runoff and erosion rate.