PLANT IITTER PRODUCTION AND ITS ETTECT IN THE EROSION PROCESSES IN A SENLIARID MEDITERRANEAN ECOSYSTEM FROM SE OF SPAIN

Authors

  • G. C. Fisher
  • A. Romero
  • F. López Bermúdez
  • J. B. Thornes
  • C. Francis
Keywords: plant production, erosion, semiarid, ecosystem, South-East Spain

Abstract

The effects of vegetation on soil erosion occur partly through the controls which surface plant litter and incorporated organic matter exercise over hydrological and geomorphological processes. The relationships between litter and other components of a dry Mediterranean ecosystem have been measured since November 1983 to February 1986 on a sloping site with eroding marl soils about 30 Km from Murcia. Results are presented here for biomass, litter production and litter composition for several perennial shrubs on this site. Litter and soil characteristics were found to vary rapidly over short distances « 1m). Litter fall from perennial shrubs usually peaks in spring and early summer, but generally surface litter variation is poorly correlated with the amount of vegetation cover and soil moisture amounts. The stronger links between vegetation cover and soil organic matter suggest an important role for root biomass as a major and strongly localized source of organic matter on this site.

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Author Biographies

G. C. Fisher

Department of Geography University of London England

A. Romero

Departamento de Geografía Física Facultad de Letras Universidad de Murcia

F. López Bermúdez

Departamento de Geografía Física Facultad de Letras Universidad de Murcia

J. B. Thornes

Department of Geography University of Bristol England

C. Francis

Departamento de Geografía Física Facultad de Letras Universidad de Murcia
How to Cite
Fisher, G. C., Romero, A., López Bermúdez, F., Thornes, J. B., & Francis, C. (1987). PLANT IITTER PRODUCTION AND ITS ETTECT IN THE EROSION PROCESSES IN A SENLIARID MEDITERRANEAN ECOSYSTEM FROM SE OF SPAIN. Anales de Biología, (12), 91–102. Retrieved from https://revistas.um.es/analesbio/article/view/35581
Issue
Section
Biología ambiental

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