The Iberian Montado/Dehesa in face of climate change: Soil effects (bulk density and hydraulic conductivity)

Abstract

A sustainable management of the soil is an imperative for all land use systems. The LIFE Montado-Adapt project proposed to implement several soil conservation and protection practices, in order to fight landscape and climate change in the Montado/Dehesa Iberian agro-silvo-pastoral system. This work showcases an evaluation of the effect of some soil protection measures, such as soil reduction/zero tillage and improvement of the pastures, in 4 pilot areas of the project, on 2 soil physical parameters: soil hydraulic conductivity (k_s) and soil bulk density (BD). After 3 years, a k_s decrease was observed, 22% (0.61 Log10 k_s), being more accentuated in areas with livestock cattle exist, reaching to 37% (0.83 Log10 k_s). Contrary to k_s, BD increased in areas where livestock pasture occurs, between 12 and 4%, a consequence of livestock trampling. In areas where pastures do not occur, a decrease was observed, 3 and 4%, consequence of the no-tillage policy of soils, which promotes a better root development, accumulation of organic matter and soil aggregation. Even after 3 years, the soil conservation and protection practices seem to promote changes both k_s and BD of the soils.