Surface indicators are correlated with soil multifunctionality in global drylands

• Autores: Eldridge, David J.; Delgado Baquerizo, Manuel; Quero, José L.; Ochoa, Victoria; Gozalo, Beatriz; García Palacios, Pablo; Escolar, Cristina; García Gómez, Miguel; Prina, Aníbal; Bowker, Mathew A.; Bran, Donaldo Eduardo; Castro, Ignacio; Cea, Alex; Derak, Mchich; Espinosa, Carlos I.; Florentino, Adriana; Gaitán, Juan José; Gatica, Mario Gabriel; Gómez González, Susana; Ghiloufi, Wahida; Gutierrez, Julio R.; Guzman, Elizabeth; Hernández, Rosa M.; Hughes, Frederic M.; Muiño, Walter; Monerris, Jorge; Ospina, Abelardo; Ramírez, David A.; Ribas Fernandez, Yanina Antonia; Romão, Roberto L.; Torres Díaz, Cristian; Koen, Terrance B.; Maestre, Fernando T.
• Año de publicación: 2019
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: DRYLANDS; LITTER; NUTRIENT FUNCTION; SOIL ATTRIBUTES; SOIL CONDITION; SOIL FUNCTION; SOIL HEALTH; SOIL STABILITY
• Institución: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

Multiple ecosystem functions need to be considered simultaneously to manage and protect the several ecosystem services that are essential to people and their environments. Despite this, cost effective, tangible, relatively simple and globally relevant methodologies to monitor in situ soil multifunctionality, that is, the provision of multiple ecosystem functions by soils, have not been tested at the global scale. We combined correlation analysis and structural equation modelling to explore whether we could find easily measured, field-based indicators of soil multifunctionality (measured using functions linked to the cycling and storage of soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus). To do this, we gathered soil data from 120 dryland ecosystems from five continents. Two soil surface attributes measured in situ (litter incorporation and surface aggregate stability) were the most strongly associated with soil multifunctionality, even after accounting for geographic location and other drivers such as climate, woody cover, soil pH and soil electric conductivity. The positive relationships between surface stability and litter incorporation on soil multifunctionality were greater beneath the canopy of perennial vegetation than in adjacent, open areas devoid of vascular plants. The positive associations between surface aggregate stability and soil functions increased with increasing mean annual temperature. Synthesis and applications. Our findings demonstrate that a reduced suite of easily measured in situ soil surface attributes can be used as potential indicators of soil multifunctionality in drylands world-wide. These attributes, which relate to plant litter (origin, incorporation, cover), and surface stability, are relatively cheap and easy to assess with minimal training, allowing operators to sample many sites across widely varying climatic areas and soil types. The correlations of these variables are comparable to the influence of climate or soil, and would allow cost-effective monitoring of soil multifunctionality under changing land-use and environmental conditions. This would provide important information for evaluating the ecological impacts of land degradation, desertification and climate change in drylands world-wide.
Fil: Eldridge, David J.. University of New South Wales; Australia
Fil: Delgado Baquerizo, Manuel. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; España
Fil: Quero, José L.. Universidad de Córdoba; España
Fil: Ochoa, Victoria. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; España. Universidad de Alicante; España
Fil: Gozalo, Beatriz. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; España. Universidad de Alicante; España
Fil: García Palacios, Pablo. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; España
Fil: Escolar, Cristina. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; España
Fil: García Gómez, Miguel. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; España
Fil: Prina, Aníbal. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa; Argentina
Fil: Bowker, Mathew A.. Northern Arizona University; Estados Unidos
Fil: Bran, Donaldo Eduardo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Patagonia Norte. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Carlos de Bariloche; Argentina
Fil: Castro, Ignacio. Universidad Experimental Simón Rodríguez; Venezuela
Fil: Cea, Alex. Universidad de La Serena; Chile
Fil: Derak, Mchich. No especifíca;
Fil: Espinosa, Carlos I.. Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja; Ecuador
Fil: Florentino, Adriana. Universidad Central de Venezuela; Venezuela
Fil: Gaitán, Juan José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación de Recursos Naturales. Instituto de Suelos; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Luján. Departamento de Tecnología; Argentina
Fil: Gatica, Mario Gabriel. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera; Argentina
Fil: Gómez González, Susana. Universidad de Cádiz; España
Fil: Ghiloufi, Wahida. Université de Sfax; Túnez
Fil: Gutierrez, Julio R.. Universidad de La Serena; Chile
Fil: Guzman, Elizabeth. Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja; Ecuador
Fil: Hernández, Rosa M.. Universidad Experimental Simón Rodríguez; Venezuela
Fil: Hughes, Frederic M.. Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana; Brasil
Fil: Muiño, Walter. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa; Argentina
Fil: Monerris, Jorge. No especifíca;
Fil: Ospina, Abelardo. Universidad Central de Venezuela; Venezuela
Fil: Ramírez, David A.. International Potato Centre; Perú
Fil: Ribas Fernandez, Yanina Antonia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones de la Geosfera y Biosfera; Argentina
Fil: Romão, Roberto L.. Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana; Brasil
Fil: Torres Díaz, Cristian. Universidad del Bio Bio; Chile
Fil: Koen, Terrance B.. No especifíca;
Fil: Maestre, Fernando T.. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; España. Universidad de Alicante; España