Plant-topsoil relationships underlying subalpine grassland patchiness.

Approximately half of the area in the Spanish Central Pyrenees is dedicated to pastures. A decrease in stocking rate coupled with changes in livestock management in recent decades have favoured the expansion of Nardus grasslands, which are considered undesirable for grazing use and for diversity conservation. The objective of this study was to analyse how topsoil properties are related to grassland plant composition occurring in erosion-disturbed (chalk grasslands) and undisturbed (Nardus mat-grasslands) soils in a subalpine area of the Spanish Central Pyrenees.

Pyrogenic organic matter from palaeo-fires during the Holocene: A case study in a sequence of buried soils at the Central Ebro Basin (NE Spain).

We studied the fire record and its environmental consequences during the Holocene in the Central Ebro Basin. This region is very sensitive to environmental changes due to its semiarid conditions, lithological features and a continuous human presence during the past 6000 years. The study area is a 6 m buried sequence of polycyclic soils developed approximately 9500 years ago that is exceptionally well preserved and encompasses four sedimentary units.

Effects of prescribed burning for pasture reclamation on soil chemical properties in subalpine shrublands of the Central Pyrenees (NE-Spain).

The abandonment of the traditional pastoral activities in the subalpine grasslands of the Central Pyrenees (NE-Spain) has resulted in shrub encroachment processes that are dominated by species such as the Echinospartum horridum. Therefore, prescribed burning has been recently readopted in this region as a management tool to stop the spread of shrubs and recover grasslands. We aimed to assess the effect that this practice may have on soil chemical properties such as SOC, N, pH, EC, water-extractable and exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg and K), cation exchange capacity, inorganic N forms (N-NH and N-NO) and available P.

Effects of prescribed fire for pasture management on soil organic matter and biological properties: A 1-year study case in the Central Pyrenees.

Prescribed burning has been readopted in the last decade in the Central Pyrenees to stop the regression of subalpine grasslands in favour of shrublands, dominated among others by Echinospartum horridum (Vahl) Rothm. Nevertheless, the effect of this practice on soil properties is uncertain. The aim of this work was to analyse the effects of these burnings on topsoil organic matter and biological properties.

Interannual variations of soil organic carbon fractions in unmanaged volcanic soils (Canary Islands, Spain).

The stability over time of the organic C stocked in soils under undisturbed ecosystems is poorly studied, despite being suitable for detecting changes related to climate fluctuations and global warming. Volcanic soils often show high organic C contents due to the stabilization of organic matter by short-range ordered minerals or Al-humus complexes. We investigated the dynamics of different organic C fractions in volcanic soils of protected natural ecosystems of the Canary Islands (Spain) to evaluate the stability of their C pools.