The Hydrological-Hydrochemical Factors that Control the Invasion of the Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) in Succession in Areas with Opencast Mines

Studies on opencast mines have indicated that the spontaneous colonization of excavations and sedimentation tanks by vegetation is determined not only by the substratum and the land relief, but also by the hydrological and hydrochemical relations in the exploitation hollow. Sometimes, biological invasions can also disturb the natural revegetation. Robinia pseudoacacia L. black locust is an invasive alien species that frequently colonizes sandy habitats. Thirty study plots were randomly established on four types of sites: (1) sandy sediments, extremely dry places located mainly on heaps of post-washer slime; (2) sandy sediments, dry areas that are periodically flooded and have pulp; (3) clay sediments, damp areas that are periodically submerged, and (4) the control, a forest with R. pseudoacacia in its neighborhood. A total of 94 species of vascular plants and seven species of mosses were found. The vegetation at the sites differs and the role of the black locust increases along the dryness gradient and developmental phase of vegetation. Older phases of succession resemble a forest in the surrounding area. It is a R. pseudoacacia species-poor monodominant stand that has been forming for around 30 years. A lack of trees and dense grasses favor the successful invasion of the black locust on man-made sandy habitats.

Shrub clearing as Active Management strategy to control land abandonment in the Central Spanish Pyrenees: The effects and the limits

<p>The Mediterranean mountains have been subject to significant land abandonment processes during the second half of the 20th century.  The subsequent natural revegetation following abandonment in rural areas has been widely documented to have significant implications on the hydrological cycle and the vegetation dynamics. The Spanish Pyrenees, are one of the most affected areas by these land transformations which could threaten their importance for water supply and agricultural activities in the downstream lowland areas.</p><p>Management strategies of these abandoned areas have been debatable during the last decades between scientists, policy-makers and stakeholders. Active Management strategy through shrub clearing is one of the proposed practices that have shown advantages to deal with land abandonment in some regions of Spain. Nevertheless, little is known on the effects of this practice on the hydrological cycle and water resources in abandoned areas. In this study we used the Regional Eco-Hydrological Simulation System RHESSys to estimate shrub clearing effects on water resources in the Aisa valley in the Central Spanish Pyrenees, subject to land abandonment and natural revegetation processes during the past decades. Our results show an increase of annual streamflow and a decrease of annual evapotranspiration following shrub clearing. Nevertheless, the magnitude of these changes may decrease with the age of abandonment and climate change.</p>

Soil organic carbon and soil total nitrogen stocks, soil quality and vegetation composition during natural revegetation processes in a Mediterranean mid-mountain area

<p>Mediterranean mid-mountain areas have been subject to significant human pressure through deforestation, cultivation of steep slopes, fires and overgrazing. However, during the 20<sup>th</sup> century, the mountainous areas of the northern rim of the Mediterranean region were affected by abandonment of cultivated fields and natural revegetation processes. Natural revegetation occurred in most of the lands where human activity (farming on steep slopes, grazing) declined in intensity or was abandoned, resulting in the expansion of shrubs, bushes and forests. What are the consequences of such processes on soil quality, soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil total nitrogen (TN) stocks and vegetation composition? What are the differences between the different land uses and land covers (LULCs)? The general aim of this study is to study the effects of natural revegetation processes after land abandonment on soil quality, SOC and soil TN stocks and vegetation composition in the Leza Valley (Iberian System, Spain). We hypothesized that natural revegetation processes improves soil quality and higher SOC and TN stocks. For this purpose, we analyzed 60 soil samples, from 5 LULCs and four depths (0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40 cm): pasture, shrubs characterized by the presence of Cistus laurifolius, bushed characterized by the presence of Juniperus communis, Young forest (Quercus faginea), and old forest or dehesa. In addition, plant species inventories were carried out in each LULC.</p><p>The results related to physico-chemical soil properties indicated: (i) significant differences in soil quality between the first stages of natural revegetation (pasture and shrubs) and young forest (limited to the first 20 cm between shrub and young forest); (ii)  significant differences in SOC stocks between the first stage of natural revegetation (pasture) and young and old forests; (iii) significant differences in soil TN stocks between pasture and shrubs and young and old forests; and (iv) significant differences between the shrub families. Final results obtained through a Principal Component Analysis with all the variables differentiate forests from shrubs, bushes and pastures confirming our first hypothesis. We can conclude that natural revegetation is an effective strategy to improve soil quality and increase SOC and soil TN stocks.</p>

Effects of two typical revegetation methods on soil moisture in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China

Understanding the effects of vegetation on soil moisture is vital to the ecosystem restoration in water-restricted areas. For this study, the effects of introduced revegetation and natural revegetation on soil water (0–1.8 m) were investigated in the Chinese Loess Plateau, which was based on an in situ vegetation removal experiment and two years of soil moisture monitoring. The results indicated that under introduced revegetation, pasture grassland had lower soil moisture but higher temporal variations over the growing season. Compared with abandoned farmlands and native grasslands under natural revegetation, pasture grasslands revealed greater negative effects on deep soil moisture (1–1.8 m), which was difficult to recover following soil desiccation. In contrast, for abandoned farmlands and native grasslands, the surface soil moisture (0–0.4 m) was mainly impacted, which was easily replenished through rainfall events. These outcomes implied that natural revegetation, rather than introduced revegetation, should be the first choice in water-limited regions toward the rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems.