INVESTIGADORES
JOBBAGY GAMPEL Esteban Gabriel
artículos
Título:
Exhaustive water use by a woodland precludes salt leaching and sustains wet soils
Autor/es:
MARCHESINI, V; FERNANDEZ, RJ; JOBBAGY, EG
Revista:
OECOLOGIA
Editorial:
SPRINGER
Referencias:
Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2013 vol. 171 p. 1003 - 1012
ISSN:
0029-8549
Resumen:
Disturbances in semiarid environments have revealed a strong connection between water, salt and vegetation dynamics highlighting how the alteration of water fluxes can drive salt redistribution process and longterm environmental degradation. Here, we explore to what extent the reciprocal effect, that of salt redistribution on water fluxes, may play a role in dictating environmental changes following disturbance in dry woodlands. We assessed salt and water dynamics comparing soil-solution electrical conductivity, chloride concentration, soil water content (SWC) and soil matric and osmotic water potential (Wm, Wos) between disturbed and undisturbed areas. A large pool of salts and chlorides present in undisturbed areas was absent in disturbed plots, suggesting deep leaching. Unexpectedly, this was associated with slight but consistently lower SWC in disturbed versus undisturbed situations during two growing seasons. The apparent paradox of increased leaching but diminishing SWC after disturbance can be explained by the effect of native salt lowering Wos enough to prevent full soil drying. Under disturbed conditions, the onset of deep drainage and salt leaching would raise Wos allowing a decline of Wm and SWC. Soil water storage seems to be modulated by the presence (under natural conditions) and partial leaching (following selective shrub disturbance) of large salt pools. This counterintuitive effect of disturbances may be important in semiarid regions where deep soil salt accumulation is a common feature. Our results highlight the importance of watersaltvegetation coupling for the understanding and management of these systems