Spontaneous urban vegetation as an indicator of soil functionality and ecosystem services

IF 2 3区环境科学与生态学 Q3 ECOLOGY

Applied Vegetation Science Pub Date : 2023-05-08 DOI:10.1111/avsc.12728

José Antonio Molina, Juan Pedro Martín-Sanz, Miguel Ángel Casermeiro, José Ramón Quintana

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Questions

Our study focused on spontaneous vegetation in urban greenspaces in a Mediterranean city with the aim of relating plant community properties with ecological services along soil disturbance gradients. We asked which plant communities have the greatest plant biodiversity and soil carbon storage and the best-performing nutrient cycles and water regulation.

Location

Madrid City (Central Spain).

Methods

We studied four types of plant communities following soil disturbance gradients: vegetation on trampled soils, roadside vegetation, annual grasslands and perennial forbs. Regarding vegetation, we studied plant composition and productivity, plant diversity, plant growth forms and functional groups. Regarding soils, we determined soil organic carbon (TOC), available nutrients, the activity of seven enzymes relating to the main macronutrient cycles, and physical properties such as bulk density (BD) and soil water-holding capacity (WHC). We used one-way ANOVA to determine the influence of the plant community type on both soil and vegetation variables. Canonical correspondence analysis was performed to interpret the relationships between plant species assemblages with environmental gradients.

Results

Perennial forbs showed greater biomass and developed on soils with the greatest TOC and available phosphorus. Annual grasslands displayed the highest plant diversity. Roadside vegetation developed on soils with higher phenoloxidase activity when compared to vegetation on trampled soils and annual grasslands. Vegetation on trampled soils developed on soils with lower WHC, lower beta-glucosidase, arylamidase and phosphatase activities and higher BD when compared to perennial forbs. Plant community distribution followed gradients most significantly associated with soil organic matter content, soil compaction and nutrient cycling performance.

Conclusions

We conclude that plant communities are good indicators of ecosystem function and services which are unevenly distributed throughout urban habitats. The management in Mediterranean unmaintained urban greenspaces should be aimed at avoiding soil compaction to promote biodiversity, carbon storage and water regulation.

Abstract Image

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城市自然植被作为土壤功能和生态系统服务的指标

我们的研究重点是地中海城市绿地中的自然植被，目的是将植物群落特性与沿土壤扰动梯度的生态服务联系起来。我们询问哪些植物群落具有最大的植物生物多样性和土壤碳储量，以及最佳的养分循环和水分调节。位置马德里市(西班牙中部)。方法按土壤扰动梯度对四种类型的植物群落进行研究:践踏土壤植被、路边植被、一年生草地和多年生牧草。在植被方面，我们研究了植物组成和生产力、植物多样性、植物生长形式和功能群。在土壤方面，我们测定了土壤有机碳(TOC)、速效养分、与主要宏量养分循环有关的7种酶的活性以及土壤容重(BD)和土壤持水量(WHC)等物理性质。我们使用单因素方差分析来确定植物群落类型对土壤和植被变量的影响。采用典型对应分析方法解释了植物物种组合与环境梯度之间的关系。结果多年生草本植物在TOC和有效磷含量最高的土壤上生物量更大。一年生草地的植物多样性最高。与践踏土壤和一年生草地上的植被相比，路边植被的生长具有较高的酚氧化酶活性。与多年生草本植物相比，被践踏土壤上的植被在WHC较低、-葡萄糖苷酶、芳基酰胺酶和磷酸酶活性较低、BD较高的土壤上发育。土壤有机质含量、土壤压实度和养分循环性能对植物群落分布具有显著的梯度影响。结论植物群落是反映城市生境生态系统功能和服务功能的良好指标。地中海无人维护的城市绿地管理应以避免土壤压实为目标，促进生物多样性、碳储存和水调节。

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来源期刊

Applied Vegetation Science 环境科学-林学

CiteScore

6.00

自引率

10.70%

发文量

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： Applied Vegetation Science focuses on community-level topics relevant to human interaction with vegetation, including global change, nature conservation, nature management, restoration of plant communities and of natural habitats, and the planning of semi-natural and urban landscapes. Vegetation survey, modelling and remote-sensing applications are welcome. Papers on vegetation science which do not fit to this scope (do not have an applied aspect and are not vegetation survey) should be directed to our associate journal, the Journal of Vegetation Science. Both journals publish papers on the ecology of a single species only if it plays a key role in structuring plant communities.