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Fragmentation modulates the strong impact of habitat quality and plant cover on fertility and microbial activity of semiarid gypsum soils

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Abstract

Background and aims

Plant-soil interactions are a crucial component of ecosystem functioning. However, most global change studies focus on plant communities, with information on soil properties and performance being scarce. Our goal was to assess the individual and joint effect of habitat heterogeneity and three global change drivers (fragmentation, loss of habitat quality and climate change) on nutrient availability and soil microbial activity in Mediterranean gypsum soils.

Methods

We collected soil samples from an experimental field site from large/small fragments, with high/low habitat quality, subjected to two levels of water availability (dry/mesic) and from two microhabitats (under the canopy of shrubs and in the open). We analyzed nutrient concentrations (C, N and P) and enzymatic activities (ß-glucosidase, urease and acid phosphatase).

Results

C, N, P content, ß-glucosidase, urease and acid phosphatase activities were higher under the canopy than in the open and in high- than in poor- habitat quality sites. These differences were exacerbated in small fragments.

Conclusions

The strong interdependence between plant and soil was modulated by fragmentation in the Mediterranean gypsum soils studied. Drought did not exert a direct negative effect on soil properties, although the effect might arise under more intense drought or under drought taking place at times of the year different from those explored here. Results highlight the importance of considering several drivers simultaneously to forecast realistic ecosystem responses to global change.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to Fernando Maestre for help and wise advice on soil and microbial analyses. Funding was provided by the Spanish Ministry for Innovation and Science with the grants Consolider Montes (CSD2008_00040) and VULGLO (CGL2010-22180-C03-03), and by the Community of Madrid grant REMEDINAL 2 (CM S2009/AMB-1783).

We thank MNCN colleagues for field assistance and support and Y. Valiñani and B. Cuartero for their valuable help and advice with chemical analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio Internacional de Cambio Global (LINC-Global), Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, MNCN-CSIC, Serrano 115 dpdo, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Ana Lázaro-Nogal, Silvia Matesanz, Teresa E. Gimeno & Fernando Valladares

  2. Biology Department, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, 06459, USA

    Silvia Matesanz

  3. Departamento de Biología y Geología, ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Tulipán s/n, 28933, Móstoles, Spain

    Teresa E. Gimeno, Adrián Escudero & Fernando Valladares

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  1. Ana Lázaro-Nogal
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  2. Silvia Matesanz
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  3. Teresa E. Gimeno
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  4. Adrián Escudero
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Correspondence to Ana Lázaro-Nogal.

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Lázaro-Nogal, A., Matesanz, S., Gimeno, T.E. et al. Fragmentation modulates the strong impact of habitat quality and plant cover on fertility and microbial activity of semiarid gypsum soils. Plant Soil 358, 213–223 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-012-1184-9

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