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An approach to quantitative plant–soil relationships of saltcedar woodlands throughout central and southeastern Iberian Peninsula (Spain)

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Abstract

Saltcedar woodlands are plant formations dominated by several species of the genus Tamarix (Tamaricaceae), representing the potential vegetation in saline, subsaline and wet environments under dry and semi-arid conditions. The broad ecological range of Tamarix communities leads to a heterogeneous floristic composition, with significant differences among habitats in terms of soil and vegetation. Some classification systems for Tamarix communities are only based on vegetation features and do not take any quantitative soil characteristics into account. Twelve Tamarix populations were selected under different ecological environments throughout central and southeastern Iberian Peninsula (Spain). Soil samples and vegetation inventories were collected over the course of 1 year to establish the plant–soil relationships based on constrained ordination analyses. The results showed that three different edaphic gradients were relevant to define the floristic composition of the Spanish saltcedar woodlands: a sodium–moisture gradient, a sulphate–magnesium gradient and a texture gradient. On the basis of these findings, we suggest a new classification system for Tamarix woodlands for the Mediterranean area based on plant–soil relationships. Three vegetation types have been proposed: hyperhalophilous, mesohalophilous and freshwater plant communities. Hyperhalophilous plant communities were characterised by soils with high E.C., high Na+ concentration, low soil moisture and high percentage of clay, being usually dominated by T. boveana and halophytes. Mesohalophilous plant communities had soils with high E.C., high Mg2+ and SO42− concentrations and high percentage of sand, being dominated by T. gallica with mesohalophilous and nitrophilous species. Finally, freshwater plant communities typically showed low E.C., low Na+ concentration and high soil moisture, being characterised by T. gallica with riparian and nitrophilous plants. Since the studied saltcedar woodland communities are notably dependent on soil salinity and moisture, the control of the human activities and hydrological alteration should be considered as a priority to contribute to the global preservation of the Tamarix woodlands.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Prof. Jan Lepš and Prof. Petr Šmilauer for their excellent lessons in the design and analysis of ecological experiments; José Vicente Guardiola for his revision of the statistics methodology; Antonio Sánchez for lending his Bouyoucos densitometers; Nick Marchant for the English review; AEMET (Mº de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, Spain) for providing the climatic database; and the University of South Bohemia for providing CANOCO v.5 (Microcomputer Power, Ithaca, NY, USA) to perform the statistical analyses. We also want to express our grateful gratitude to the Director and guards of the National Park ‘Tablas de Daimiel’ for providing us with the facilities and permissions to collect material in this protected area. We greatly appreciate the constructive comments by the anonymous reviewers, who acutely helped to improve the manuscript. This research was supported by the Mº de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente of Spanish Government [Project OAPN 354/2011] and the Mº de Educación of Spanish Government [FPU Grant AP-2012-1954]. This study is part of the Ph.D. Thesis of Joaquín Moreno.

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  1. Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales y Recursos Naturales, Universidad de Alicante, Carretera de San Vicente s/n, 03690, San Vicente del Raspeig, Alicante, Spain

    Joaquín Moreno, Alejandro Terrones, María Ángeles Alonso & Ana Juan

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  1. Joaquín Moreno
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Correspondence to Joaquín Moreno.

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10342_2019_1227_MOESM3_ESM.pdf

Figure S1. Ordination diagram of the canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) of saltcedar woodland vegetation from the twelve studied Tamarix communities, showing (a) correlations between plant species and edaphic variables in the axes 1 and 3 and (b) correlations between samples and edaphic variables in the axes 1 and 3. The diagram represents only the forty plant species that were best predicted by the explanatory variables. Arrows indicate the edaphic variables and their directions, and lengths show their relationships to the ordination axes. Edaphic variable abbreviations: E.C., electrical conductivity; moisture, soil moisture; PAWC, plant available water capacity; SAR, sodium adsorption ratio. Species abbreviations: AgrSto, Agrostis stolonifera; BolMar, Bolboschoenus maritimus; BraNap, Brassica napus; CalSep, Calystegia sepium; CapBur, Capsella bursa-pastoris; CheMar, Chenopodium x maroccanum; DipVir, Diplotaxis virgata; ElyHis, Elymus hispidus; HalPor, Halimione portulacoides; JunMar, Juncus maritimus; LacSer, Lactuca serriola; LamAmp, Lamium amplexicaule; LimCri, Limbarda crithmoides; LimAng, Limonium angustebracteatum; LimCae, Limonium caesium; LimDel, Limonium delicatulum; LimDic, Limonium dichotomum; LimSup, Limonium supinum; LygSpa, Lygeum spartum; MedLit, Medicago littoralis; PhaAru, Phalaris arundinacea; PhrAus, Phragmites australis subsp. australis; PlaCor, Plantago coronopus; PolMon; Polypogon monspeliensis; PopAlb, Populus alba; PopNig, Populus nigra; RumCon, Rumex conglomeratus; RumPal, Rumex palustris; SalFru, Salicornia fruticosa; SamVal, Samolus valerandi; SedCae, Sedum caespitosum; SilMar, Silybum marianum; SonAsp, Sonchus asper; SuaVer, Suaeda vera; TamBov, Tamarix boveana; TamGal, Tamarix gallica; TypDom, Typha domingensis; UlmGla, Ulmus glabra; VerPer, Veronica persica; XanIta, Xanthium italicum. Site abbreviations: P1, Algeciras Island; P2, Casa Blanca Stream; P3, Gato Ravine; P4, Cigüela River; P5, the downstream zone; P6, Guadiana River; P7, Guadalentín Saltmarsh; P8, Agramón Saltmarsh; P9, Elche Reservoir; P10, El Carmolí Saltmarsh; P11, Requena Saltmarsh; P12, Salinas Lagoon. Time abbreviations: i, autumn (October 2013); ii, winter (January 2014); iii, spring (April 2014); iv, summer (July 2014). (PDF 56 kb)

10342_2019_1227_MOESM4_ESM.pdf

Figure S2. Variations in Ca2+ and K+ concentrations, Ca2+/Mg2+, K+/Na+ and pH in the different saltcedar woodland communities depending on the period. Shared letters indicate no difference between Tamarix communities for each period (Significance test P ≤ 0.05). Asterisks show significant differences between periods within the same vegetation type (significance test P ≤ 0.05). (PDF 39 kb)

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Moreno, J., Terrones, A., Alonso, M.Á. et al. An approach to quantitative plant–soil relationships of saltcedar woodlands throughout central and southeastern Iberian Peninsula (Spain). Eur J Forest Res 138, 1095–1108 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-019-01227-w

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