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Mediterranean cork oak wooded grasslands: synergies and trade-offs between plant diversity, pasture production and soil carbon

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Abstract

Mediterranean wooded grasslands that emerge from silvopastoral activities are multifunctional systems that result in high biodiversity and offer ecosystem services such as forage production and soil carbon sequestration. During 3 years, ten grazed wooded grassland fields were studied in the Berchidda–Monti long-term observatory, located in NE Sardinia, Italy, with the aim of exploring the synergies and trade-offs between biodiversity and selected ecosystem services. Positions below and outside the canopy of three cork oak trees in each field were randomly selected to compare seasonal pasture production, pasture utilization rate by animals, botanical composition, biodiversity indicators (Shannon index and plant species richness) and soil organic carbon. In autumn, dry matter production of pasture was similar in the two positions; in two winters out of three it was greater below the trees than outside, and in spring it was greater outside than below the trees. While plant species richness and Shannon index were not significantly influenced by the position, the overall wooded grassland plant species richness was 31% higher than that outside of the tree crown. The soil organic carbon content in the 0–40-cm soil layer was also higher below the trees. Our findings highlight that if the main purpose of the wooded grasslands is to provide forage for grazing animals rather than conserving and/or enhancing plant diversity and soil fertility, the presence of trees constrains the overall forage productivity, although the greater forage availability in winter under the trees can contribute to improve the seasonal distribution of forage production.

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Acknowledgements

The study was carried out through the AGFORWARD project (Grant Agreement No. 613520), co-funded by the EU, Directorate General for Research & Innovation, within the 7th Framework Programme, Theme 2 - Biotechnologies, Agriculture & Food, and the PASCUUM project (L.R. 7/8/07 n. 7, Regione Autonoma Sardegna). The authors are very grateful to Dr. Maria Carmela Caria, from the University of Sassari for her contribution to CCA data analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Agraria, University of Sassari, Viale Italia 39, 07100, Sassari, Italy

    Giovanna Seddaiu, Antonio Pulina, Roberto Lai & Pier Paolo Roggero

  2. Nucleo Ricerca Desertificazione, University of Sassari, Viale Italia 39, 07100, Sassari, Italy

    Giovanna Seddaiu, Simonetta Bagella, Antonio Pulina, Chiara Cappai, Ivo Rossetti, Roberto Lai & Pier Paolo Roggero

  3. Dipartimento di Scienze della Natura e del Territorio, University of Sassari, Via Piandanna 4, 07100, Sassari, Italy

    Simonetta Bagella & Ivo Rossetti

  4. Servizio Ricerca per la Zootecnia, AGRIS Sardegna, loc. Bonassai, 07100, Sassari, Italy

    Lorenzo Salis

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  1. Giovanna Seddaiu
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  2. Simonetta Bagella
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  3. Antonio Pulina
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  4. Chiara Cappai
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  5. Lorenzo Salis
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Correspondence to Antonio Pulina.

Appendix

Appendix

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Table 3 List of plant taxa with relative specific index (Is), codex used in the triplot from CCA (Fig. 3) and indication of presence (1) or absence (0) in BT (below the tree) and OT (outside the tree)
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Seddaiu, G., Bagella, S., Pulina, A. et al. Mediterranean cork oak wooded grasslands: synergies and trade-offs between plant diversity, pasture production and soil carbon. Agroforest Syst 92, 893–908 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-018-0225-7

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