{"title":"Minimal Soil Impacts of Caesalpinia decapetala Invasion in South Africa's Vhembe Biosphere Reserve","authors":"Luambo Jeffrey Ramarumo, Gladman Thondhlana, Sheunesu Ruwanza","doi":"10.1111/aje.70036","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>We assessed the effects of <i>Caesalpinia decapetala</i> (Roth) Alston invasion on soil physical properties over 3 summer months in Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, South Africa. Topsoils were collected beneath replicated invaded and uninvaded conditions and assessed for soil moisture, water repellency, penetration resistance, infiltration and hydraulic conductivity. Results showed no significant (<i>p</i> > 0.05) differences between invasion conditions for soil penetration resistance levels and infiltration rates, but monthly variations were observed for soil moisture and hydraulic conductivity. It appears <i>C. decapetala</i> invasion affects some but not all soil physical properties; therefore, ecosystem recovery after <i>C. decapetala</i> removal can be spontaneous.</p>","PeriodicalId":7844,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Ecology","volume":"63 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aje.70036","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"African Journal of Ecology","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aje.70036","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"ECOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
We assessed the effects of Caesalpinia decapetala (Roth) Alston invasion on soil physical properties over 3 summer months in Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, South Africa. Topsoils were collected beneath replicated invaded and uninvaded conditions and assessed for soil moisture, water repellency, penetration resistance, infiltration and hydraulic conductivity. Results showed no significant (p > 0.05) differences between invasion conditions for soil penetration resistance levels and infiltration rates, but monthly variations were observed for soil moisture and hydraulic conductivity. It appears C. decapetala invasion affects some but not all soil physical properties; therefore, ecosystem recovery after C. decapetala removal can be spontaneous.
期刊介绍：
African Journal of Ecology (formerly East African Wildlife Journal) publishes original scientific research into the ecology and conservation of the animals and plants of Africa. It has a wide circulation both within and outside Africa and is the foremost research journal on the ecology of the continent. In addition to original articles, the Journal publishes comprehensive reviews on topical subjects and brief communications of preliminary results.
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号
