Stephen BELL, Autonomous University of Barcelona, ICTA Environmental Science and Technology Institute , Spain
Miles LIZAK, Autonomous University of Barcelona, ICTA Environmental Science and Technology Institute , Spain
Xavier UBEDA, University of Barcelona, Department of Geography, Spain
Carles BARRIOCANAL, University of Barcelona, Department of Geography, Spain
The Mediterranean cork oak land management system is one of the most extensively practiced systems of agroforestry in Europe (Caballero et al., 2009). In general, agroforestry features greater heterogeneity not only in vegetation cover but also in soil physicochemical properties compared to other types of agricultural landscapes (i.e., croplands and pastures) (Howlett et al., 2011). Therefore, the ecological benefits of different types of cork oak management practices, especially concerning soils and their carbon stocks (Cappai et al., 2017), are highly relevant for achieving sustainable land management objectives from local to regional scales and promoting climate change mitigation. In view of this, we compared the soils under five different cork oak management systems found in a typical Mediterranean agroecosystem landscape in Catalonia, northeastern Spain. The agroforestry practices sampled include an abandoned plot, a conventional plot, a mixed-species plot, a species-promoted plot, and a species-removed plot. Soil samples were taken at varying depths and distances surrounding representative cork oak trees and analyzed for physicochemical properties. Bulk density samples were also taken to determine organic carbon stocks in the upper 30 cm. Our results highlight the potential implications of alternative approaches to cork oak agroforestry in Mediterranean landscapes for achieving sustainable land management and soil carbon sequestration objectives.
Mots clés : agroforestry|agriculture |soil carbon|cork oak|sustainable land management
A105528CB