Abstract
Soil properties and water dynamics play a crucial role in the function of oak woodland ranches and dehesas. They are largely controlled by climate conditions, terrain morphology and parent material, but also by land use and management. We review results obtained from research carried out in California and Spain on topics related to soil quality, soil degradation, and water dynamics. Of particular interest is gaining understanding of the influence of land-use and management practices. The distribution of vegetation produces spatial and temporal variation in soil properties that are described in detail. The influence of trees on soil water content is discussed and the dynamics of catchment hydrology is presented, for both California and Spanish cases. An important characteristic is high variability in precipitation, with the occurrence of prolonged dry periods (droughts) that affect water availability for plants. On ranches the effects are two-fold, influencing pasture productivity and water resources for livestock rearing. Soils in the Spanish dehesas have been subject to degradational processes as a consequence of centuries of agricultural use. Water erosion resulting in the reduction of organic matter and physical degradation is the most important phenomena. For California, with a much shorter history of plowing and livestock grazing, we present results from studies on water quality and the effects of vegetation conversion on water yield, soil stability and erosion.
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Acknowledgments
The investigation carried out in dehesas was made possible through funding offered by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (AMB92–0580, AMB95–0986–C02–02, HID98–1056–C02–02, CGL2004–04919–C02–02, CGL2008–01215, CGL2011–23361). Special thanks to all the colleagues and graduate students who offered valuable contributions to the dehesa research, especially Antonio Ceballos Barbancho, Marco Maneta López, Álvaro Gómez Gutiérrez, Manuel Pulido Fernández, Francisco Lavado Contador and Silvia Nadal Chillemi.
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Schnabel, S., Dahlgren, R.A., Moreno-Marcos, G. (2013). Soil and Water Dynamics. In: Campos, P., et al. Mediterranean Oak Woodland Working Landscapes. Landscape Series, vol 16. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6707-2_4
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