Surface indicators are correlated with soil multifunctionality in global drylands

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 E.; CASTRO, IGNACIO; CEA, ALEX; DERAK, MCHICH; ESPINOSA, CARLOS I.; FLORENTINO, ADRIANA; GAITÁN, JUAN J.; GATICA, GABRIEL M.; 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-FERNÁNDEZ, YANINA A.; ROMÃO, ROBERTO L.; TORRES-DÍAZ, CRISTIAN; KOEN, TERRANCE B.; MAESTRE, FERNANDO T.

JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2019

0021-8901

1. Multiple ecosystem functions need to be considered simultaneously to manage and protect the many services that are essential for ecosystem sustainability and human well-being. Despite this, cost effective, tangible, relatively simple, and globally-relevant methodologies to monitor in situ soil multifunctionality, i.e. the provision of multiple ecosystem functions by soils, have not been tested at the global scale.2. 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 soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling and storage). To do this, we gathered data from 120 dryland ecosystems from fivecontinents.3. Two soil surface attributes measured in situ (litter incorporation and surface aggregate stability) were the most important predictors of soil multifunctionality, even after accounting for geographic location and other drivers such as climate, woody cover, soil pH and soil electric conductivity. These surface attributes were also associated with carbon and nitrogen functions. The positive effect of surface stability and litter incorporation on soil multifunctionality was 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.4. 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 worldwide. These attributes, which relate to litter (origin, incorporation, cover), and surface stability, are relatively easy to assess with minimal training, allowing operators to sample many sites across widely varying climatic areas and soil types. The indicators identified would allow cost-effective monitoring of soil multifunctionality under changing land use and environmental conditions, providing important information for evaluating the ecological impacts of land degradation, desertification and climate change in drylands worldwide.