Environmental Factors Controlling Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Two Contrasting Mediterranean Climatic Areas of Southern Spain
Managing soil carbon requires accurate estimates of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and its dynamics, at scales able to capture the influence of local factors on the carbon pool. This paper develops a spatially explicit methodology to quantify SOC stocks in two contrasting regions of Southern Spain...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
2016
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/10900 |
| _version_ | 1848747660717064192 |
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| author | Willaarts, B. Oyonarte, C. Munoz-Rojas, Miriam Ibáñez, J. Aguilera, P. |
| author_facet | Willaarts, B. Oyonarte, C. Munoz-Rojas, Miriam Ibáñez, J. Aguilera, P. |
| author_sort | Willaarts, B. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Managing soil carbon requires accurate estimates of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and its dynamics, at scales able to capture the influence of local factors on the carbon pool. This paper develops a spatially explicit methodology to quantify SOC stocks in two contrasting regions of Southern Spain: Sierra Norte de Sevilla (SN) and Cabo de Gata (CG). Also, it examines the relationship between SOC stocks and local environmental factors. Results showed that mean SOC stocks were 4·3 kg m−2 in SN and 3·0 kg m−2 in CG. Differences in SOC in both sites were not significant, suggesting that factors other than climate have a greater influence on SOC stocks. A correlation matrix revealed that SOC has the highest positive correlation with clay content and soil depth. Based on the land use, the largest SOC stocks were found in grassland soils (4·4 kg m−2 in CG and 5·0 kg m−2 in SN) and extensive crops (3·0 kg m−2 in CG and 5·0 kg m−2 in SN), and the smallest under shrubs (2·8 kg m−2 in CG and 3·2 kg m−2 in SN) and forests soils (4·2 kg m−2 in SN). This SOC distribution is explained by the greatest soil depth under agricultural land uses, a common situation across the Mediterranean, where the deepest soils have been cultivated and natural vegetation mostly remains along the marginal sites. Accordingly, strategies to manage SOC stocks in southern Spain will have to acknowledge its high pedodiversity and long history of land use, refusing the adoption of standard global strategies. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:52:41Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-10900 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:52:41Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | John Wiley & Sons Ltd. |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-109002017-09-13T14:55:05Z Environmental Factors Controlling Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Two Contrasting Mediterranean Climatic Areas of Southern Spain Willaarts, B. Oyonarte, C. Munoz-Rojas, Miriam Ibáñez, J. Aguilera, P. Managing soil carbon requires accurate estimates of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and its dynamics, at scales able to capture the influence of local factors on the carbon pool. This paper develops a spatially explicit methodology to quantify SOC stocks in two contrasting regions of Southern Spain: Sierra Norte de Sevilla (SN) and Cabo de Gata (CG). Also, it examines the relationship between SOC stocks and local environmental factors. Results showed that mean SOC stocks were 4·3 kg m−2 in SN and 3·0 kg m−2 in CG. Differences in SOC in both sites were not significant, suggesting that factors other than climate have a greater influence on SOC stocks. A correlation matrix revealed that SOC has the highest positive correlation with clay content and soil depth. Based on the land use, the largest SOC stocks were found in grassland soils (4·4 kg m−2 in CG and 5·0 kg m−2 in SN) and extensive crops (3·0 kg m−2 in CG and 5·0 kg m−2 in SN), and the smallest under shrubs (2·8 kg m−2 in CG and 3·2 kg m−2 in SN) and forests soils (4·2 kg m−2 in SN). This SOC distribution is explained by the greatest soil depth under agricultural land uses, a common situation across the Mediterranean, where the deepest soils have been cultivated and natural vegetation mostly remains along the marginal sites. Accordingly, strategies to manage SOC stocks in southern Spain will have to acknowledge its high pedodiversity and long history of land use, refusing the adoption of standard global strategies. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/10900 10.1002/ldr.2417 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. restricted |
| spellingShingle | Willaarts, B. Oyonarte, C. Munoz-Rojas, Miriam Ibáñez, J. Aguilera, P. Environmental Factors Controlling Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Two Contrasting Mediterranean Climatic Areas of Southern Spain |
| title | Environmental Factors Controlling Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Two Contrasting Mediterranean Climatic Areas of Southern Spain |
| title_full | Environmental Factors Controlling Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Two Contrasting Mediterranean Climatic Areas of Southern Spain |
| title_fullStr | Environmental Factors Controlling Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Two Contrasting Mediterranean Climatic Areas of Southern Spain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Environmental Factors Controlling Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Two Contrasting Mediterranean Climatic Areas of Southern Spain |
| title_short | Environmental Factors Controlling Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Two Contrasting Mediterranean Climatic Areas of Southern Spain |
| title_sort | environmental factors controlling soil organic carbon stocks in two contrasting mediterranean climatic areas of southern spain |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/10900 |