Table of Content

Open Access iconOpen Access

ARTICLE

Floristic associations and filtering ability of riparian vegetation strips

Giaccio GCM1, P Laterra2, F Cabria3

1 Chacra Experimental Integrada Barrow. INTA. CC 50. (B7500) Tres Arroyos, Argentina.
2 Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) – Fundación Bariloche, Av. Bustillo Nº 9500 (8400) San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina.
3 Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, UNMDP - EEA INTA Balcarce. CC 276. (B7620) Balcarce, Argentina.

Address correspondence to: Ing. Agr. (M.Sc.) Gustavo Carlos Maria Giaccio, Fax / Phone 054-2983-431083; e-mail: email

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2017, 86(all), 112-123. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2017.86.112

Abstract

The analysis of lateral flow runoff of superficial nutrients and sediments from an agricultural origin and their retention by infiltration of riparian vegetation strips are of great importance in reducing the agricultural externalities on surface water quality. The aim of this study was to relate soil infiltration to the main biophysical properties of riparian environments in the Pampa Austral of Argentina, defined by the composition of its plant community and the coverage of exotic species. We explored the relationships between hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and aboveground, litter and root biomasses, organic matter concentration, terrain slope, soil bulk density, texture and electrical conductivity. We determined eight floristic associations through the classification of 65 censuses of vegetation. Three of the associations were dominated by native grasses, three by exotic grasses and two presented a layer of exotic willow trees in combination with native and invasive grasses. The mean Ks in soils from the floristic associations with trees and from the associations of native grasses without trees were higher than in soils from the associations of exotic grasses without trees. Significant relationships were found between Ks and the soil properties that are sensitive to the influence of vegetation, suggesting that the relationships between floristic composition and infiltration could be explained partly due to causal relationships.

Keywords


Cite This Article

GCM, G., Laterra, P., Cabria, F. (2017). Floristic associations and filtering ability of riparian vegetation strips. Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, 86(all), 112–123.

Citations




cc This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
  • 1790

    View

  • 865

    Download

  • 1

    Like

Share Link