Soil Texture and Carbon Dynamics in Savannah Vegetation Patches of Central Argentina

ADRIANA A. GILI; ROMÁN TRUCCO; SELENE NIVEYRO; MÓNICA BALZARINI; DANIEL ESTELRICH; ALBERTO QUIROGA; ELKE NOELLEMEYER

SOIL SCI SOC AMER

Año: 2010 vol. 74 p. 647 - 647

his study was intended to contribute information on the relation between soil texture and plant community composition, and the effect of interactions between texture and vegetation patch on soil C dynamics. Six sampling sites were chosen and a vegetation census and soil sampling were performed for between-canopy (BC) and under- canopy (UC) patches at each site, Shannon?Weaver diversity index (DI) was determined for herbaceous species, an relative abundance of forage species and avoided grasses were calculated. Soil data included texture, bulk density, total organic C (TOC), particulate organic C (POC), intermediate organic C (IOC), and fine organic C (FOC). Correspondence analysis showed that sandy and loamy sites did not share the same herbaceous species. We also found an interaction between vegetation patches and texture, with distinct vegetation composition in the same type of patch in different textures. The DI was lower in UC than BC patches (0.86 vs. 1.7), but no effect of t