Land use change of transhumant drove roads leads to soil quality degradation: a case study in Central Spain

Grassland soils, beyond their role as biodiversity reservoirs, actively contribute to the provision of numerous ecosystem services. In the Iberian Peninsula, drove roads, the traditional routes used for seasonal livestock movements in search of the most productive pastures, play a key role in the pr...

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Autores: Solascasas Cazorla, Paula, Hevia Martín, Violeta, Ochoa-Hueso, Raúl, Martín Azcarate, Francisco
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repositorio:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/711252
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10486/711252
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2024.105308
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Pastureland
Grazing Abandonment
Livestock Routes
Madrid Region
Soil Functioning
Biología y Biomedicina / Biología
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spelling Land use change of transhumant drove roads leads to soil quality degradation: a case study in Central SpainSolascasas Cazorla, PaulaHevia Martín, VioletaOchoa-Hueso, RaúlMartín Azcarate, FranciscoPasturelandGrazing AbandonmentLivestock RoutesMadrid RegionSoil FunctioningBiología y Biomedicina / BiologíaGrassland soils, beyond their role as biodiversity reservoirs, actively contribute to the provision of numerous ecosystem services. In the Iberian Peninsula, drove roads, the traditional routes used for seasonal livestock movements in search of the most productive pastures, play a key role in the preservation of semi-natural grasslands and in the protection of the upper soil horizon. However, the absence of transhumant pastoralism has led to the degradation of these natural corridors, with unexplored consequences in terms of soil quality and functioning. To investigate the relationship between the conservation state of these livestock routes and soil characteristics, which had not been researched to date, we selected thirty sites within the Madrid drove road network in central Spain. We established three categories: (i) reference well-preserved drove roads and two degraded states: (ii) overgrown abandoned and (iii) eroded drove roads and collected soil samples at each state. We determined soil physicochemical variables like the percentage of C, total N and P, available K, pH and electrical conductivity. We also measured soil enzyme activity using fluorometric methods and assessed litter decomposition through the Tea Bag Index experiment. Our findings demonstrated that the preservation state of drove roads had a significant impact on soil fertility. The mean carbon percentage was up to ten times lower in eroded drove roads compared to reference sites, while nitrogen content was four times higher in reference sites, and phosphorus and potassium content were twice as high in reference drove roads compared to eroded sites. Litter decomposition rate was also half in eroded soils compared to reference sites. Although the nutrient content and litter decomposition of overgrown abandoned drove roads did not differ from reference sites, enzyme activity was significantly higher in reference soils compared to both degraded states. Arylsulfatase activity was six times higher in reference plots, which also showed twice as much phosphatase activity and up to four times as much β-xylosidase activity. Our results confirmed our hypothesis that drove roads suffering from erosion have the most degraded soils. Additionally, we found that both the excessive accumulation of biomass due to grazing abandonment and the loss of vegetation cover through erosion contribute to the loss of soil functionality within the Madrid drove road network. The lack of use and subsequent degradation of drove roads compromise both the stability of the soil ecosystem and the availability of nutrients for plants. Given the vast surface area covered by this network of corridors, the reintroduction of transhumant and local extensive grazing can be an important tool to improve soil characteristicsThis work was financially supported by the European Union Life Program (project LIFE CA ÑADAS, LIFE 18 NAT/ES/000930) and the Madrid Regional Government (REMEDINAL TE-CM S2018/EMT-4338)Elsevier20242024-01-31research articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_2df8fbb1VoRhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10486/711252https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2024.105308reponame:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAMinstname:Universidad Autónoma de MadridInglésengopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/7112522026-06-23T12:46:27Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Land use change of transhumant drove roads leads to soil quality degradation: a case study in Central Spain
title Land use change of transhumant drove roads leads to soil quality degradation: a case study in Central Spain
spellingShingle Land use change of transhumant drove roads leads to soil quality degradation: a case study in Central Spain
Solascasas Cazorla, Paula
Pastureland
Grazing Abandonment
Livestock Routes
Madrid Region
Soil Functioning
Biología y Biomedicina / Biología
title_short Land use change of transhumant drove roads leads to soil quality degradation: a case study in Central Spain
title_full Land use change of transhumant drove roads leads to soil quality degradation: a case study in Central Spain
title_fullStr Land use change of transhumant drove roads leads to soil quality degradation: a case study in Central Spain
title_full_unstemmed Land use change of transhumant drove roads leads to soil quality degradation: a case study in Central Spain
title_sort Land use change of transhumant drove roads leads to soil quality degradation: a case study in Central Spain
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Solascasas Cazorla, Paula
Hevia Martín, Violeta
Ochoa-Hueso, Raúl
Martín Azcarate, Francisco
author Solascasas Cazorla, Paula
author_facet Solascasas Cazorla, Paula
Hevia Martín, Violeta
Ochoa-Hueso, Raúl
Martín Azcarate, Francisco
author_role author
author2 Hevia Martín, Violeta
Ochoa-Hueso, Raúl
Martín Azcarate, Francisco
author2_role author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Pastureland
Grazing Abandonment
Livestock Routes
Madrid Region
Soil Functioning
Biología y Biomedicina / Biología
topic Pastureland
Grazing Abandonment
Livestock Routes
Madrid Region
Soil Functioning
Biología y Biomedicina / Biología
description Grassland soils, beyond their role as biodiversity reservoirs, actively contribute to the provision of numerous ecosystem services. In the Iberian Peninsula, drove roads, the traditional routes used for seasonal livestock movements in search of the most productive pastures, play a key role in the preservation of semi-natural grasslands and in the protection of the upper soil horizon. However, the absence of transhumant pastoralism has led to the degradation of these natural corridors, with unexplored consequences in terms of soil quality and functioning. To investigate the relationship between the conservation state of these livestock routes and soil characteristics, which had not been researched to date, we selected thirty sites within the Madrid drove road network in central Spain. We established three categories: (i) reference well-preserved drove roads and two degraded states: (ii) overgrown abandoned and (iii) eroded drove roads and collected soil samples at each state. We determined soil physicochemical variables like the percentage of C, total N and P, available K, pH and electrical conductivity. We also measured soil enzyme activity using fluorometric methods and assessed litter decomposition through the Tea Bag Index experiment. Our findings demonstrated that the preservation state of drove roads had a significant impact on soil fertility. The mean carbon percentage was up to ten times lower in eroded drove roads compared to reference sites, while nitrogen content was four times higher in reference sites, and phosphorus and potassium content were twice as high in reference drove roads compared to eroded sites. Litter decomposition rate was also half in eroded soils compared to reference sites. Although the nutrient content and litter decomposition of overgrown abandoned drove roads did not differ from reference sites, enzyme activity was significantly higher in reference soils compared to both degraded states. Arylsulfatase activity was six times higher in reference plots, which also showed twice as much phosphatase activity and up to four times as much β-xylosidase activity. Our results confirmed our hypothesis that drove roads suffering from erosion have the most degraded soils. Additionally, we found that both the excessive accumulation of biomass due to grazing abandonment and the loss of vegetation cover through erosion contribute to the loss of soil functionality within the Madrid drove road network. The lack of use and subsequent degradation of drove roads compromise both the stability of the soil ecosystem and the availability of nutrients for plants. Given the vast surface area covered by this network of corridors, the reintroduction of transhumant and local extensive grazing can be an important tool to improve soil characteristics
publishDate 2024
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2024
2024-01-31
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv research article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_2df8fbb1
VoR
http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10486/711252
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2024.105308
url http://hdl.handle.net/10486/711252
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2024.105308
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
eng
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
instname:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
instname_str Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
reponame_str Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
collection Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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