Titelangaben
Otieno, Dennis Ochuodho ; Mirzaei, Heydar ; Hussain, Mir Zaman ; Li, Yanli ; Schmidt, Markus ; Wartinger, Margarete ; Jung, Eun-Young ; Ribeiro, Nuno ; Pereira, João Santos ; Tenhunen, John:
Herbaceous layer development during spring does not deplete soil nitrogen in the Portuguese montado.
In: Journal of Arid Environments.
Bd. 75
(2011)
Heft 3
.
- S. 231-238.
ISSN 0140-1963
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2010.10.011
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) content in the soil and in the herbaceous biomass were monitored during spring of 2004–2006 to determine how the herbaceous layer development influences soil N availability in the montado ecosystem of southern Portugal. Highest (246.6 ± 52.7 g m−2) and lowest (123.2 ± 89.5 g m−2) peak biomass occurred in 2006 and 2005 respectively. Total soil N within the top 20 cm soil profile ranged between 0.2 ± 0.1% in February and 0.41 ± 0.2% in May, while available soil N was lowest (5 ± 2 μg g−1soil) in February but increased three-to-five fold in March and was >17.5 μg g−1soil at senescence in May. Significant (p herbaceous plants were annuals with large reserves of organic N at senescence, which returned to the soil as detritus. The herbaceous vegetation is a critical component of the montado that contributes to N recharge and cycling within the ecosystem.