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Soil properties and plant community relationship in a saltmarsh of the Grado and Marano lagoon (northern Italy)

  • ISEB 2015: Biogeochemical Dynamics of Sediment-Water Systems: Processes and Modelling
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

The relationship between soil properties and plant communities was investigated in a saltmarsh of the Grado and Marano lagoon (northern Italy), where hydrology and micromorphology strongly influence the features of the ecosystem. A multidisciplinary approach was used to assess the change of soil properties and plant communities in relation to the submergence of soil.

Materials and methods

The plant community and soil profile surveys were both carried out along a transect in six sampling sites of the Gran Chiusa saltmarsh (Grado and Marano lagoon). The morphological and physicochemical parameters of soil profiles were investigated, and soils were classified according to Soil Taxonomy. The concentration of macronutrients in both soils and plants was analysed by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. Cluster and linear discriminant analysis were used to assist the interpretation of the data of plant communities and soil properties, respectively. The bioconcentration factor explored the macronutrient relationship between plant community and soil.

Results and discussion

A high, middle and low zone were identified by clustering the different plant communities along the studied transect. Discriminant analysis showed how the increase in soil submergence supported the accumulation of S and Ca content and depletion of Fe and Na. The development of different plant communities was linked to both soil water saturation and to the capacity of halophytes to tolerate anoxic conditions or salinity, by extrusion or bioconcentration strategies.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that tide level plays an important role in the pedological development and chemical transformations along a soil hydrosequence. The micromosaic vegetation pattern may therefore represent a useful index of the hydrological and nutritional status of the underlying soils and could be used to predict changes in coastal ecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to the Regional Agency for the Environmental Protection (ARPA) of Friuli Venezia Giulia for the technical support and evapotranspiration data and to the regional Protezione Civile for providing LiDAR data and orthophotos of sites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, viale Fanin 40, 40127, Bologna, Italy

    Livia Vittori Antisari, Chiara Ferronato & Gilmo Vianello

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze AgroAlimentari, Ambientali e Animali, Università di Udine, via delle Scienze, 206, 33100, Udine, Italy

    Elisa Pellegrini, Francesco Boscutti, Valentino Casolo & Maria de Nobili

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  1. Livia Vittori Antisari
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  2. Chiara Ferronato
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  3. Elisa Pellegrini
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  4. Francesco Boscutti
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  5. Valentino Casolo
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  6. Maria de Nobili
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  7. Gilmo Vianello
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Correspondence to Chiara Ferronato.

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Vittori Antisari, L., Ferronato, C., Pellegrini, E. et al. Soil properties and plant community relationship in a saltmarsh of the Grado and Marano lagoon (northern Italy). J Soils Sediments 17, 1862–1873 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-016-1510-6

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