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Unimodal pattern of soil hydrophobicity along an altitudinal gradient encompassing Mediterranean, temperate, and alpine ecosystems

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An Erratum to this article was published on 15 October 2016

Abstract

Background and Aims

Soil water repellency (SWR, i.e. the reduced affinity for water due to the presence of hydrophobic coatings on soil particles) has relevant hydrological implications on the rate of water infiltration, surface runoff, and overland flow. Here, we test how SWR varies along a 2490 m altitudinal gradient encompassing six ecosystems including Mediterranean, Temperate, and Alpine vegetation types.

Methods

Water repellency, measured by the Molarity of an Ethanol Droplet (MED) test, was quantified in 80 soil samples collected for 16 different elevations. Soil quality was assessed by measuring soil texture, pH, organic carbon, salinity, and nutrient availability.

Results

SWR showed a unimodal pattern along the 2490 m transect, peaking at intermediate elevations. Unexpectedly, SWR was the highest under broad-leaf deciduous forests, and the lowest under evergreen, sclerophyllous Mediterranean vegetation types. The soil organic carbon content, and the pH were the main determinants of water repellency, showing respectively a positive, and a negative correlation with the SWR. In contrast, soil texture and salinity resulted unrelated to the SWR.

Conclusions

With this study we demonstrated a linkage between SWR, vegetation type and soil pH and organic carbon content along the elevation gradient. Further studies are needed to explicitly evaluate the impact SRW on erosion risk at catchment scale in the context of climatic change.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Sandro Giannattasio and Dario Forlenza of the Italian Alpine Club of Salerno for technical support during soil sampling.

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Correspondence to Giuliano Bonanomi.

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Responsible Editor: Jeffrey Walck.

An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-3069-9.

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Bonanomi, G., Gaglione, S.A., Antignani, V. et al. Unimodal pattern of soil hydrophobicity along an altitudinal gradient encompassing Mediterranean, temperate, and alpine ecosystems. Plant Soil 409, 37–47 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-3020-0

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