El papel de los tomillares (Thymus vulgaris L.) en la protección de la erosión del suelo
- Cruz Caravaca, María Teresa de la
- Hernando Costa, Juan
- Casermeiro Martínez, Miguel Angel
- Hernando Masannet, María Isabel
- Molina, José Antonio
- Sánchez, Purificación
ISSN: 1138-3399, 1989-2128
Year of publication: 2002
Issue: 24
Pages: 81-88
Type: Article
More publications in: Anales de biología
Abstract
The role of Thymus vulgaris formations in the control of erosion problem, in the arroyo de la Vega basin, is the main objectives of this paper. The main representative soil units are: fluvisols, calcisols, regosols, leptosols, gypsisols and cambisols, all developed from miocenic materials. This area is catalogued by local authorities (Comunidad de Madrid), as Significative Erosion Area because there exist an active process of soil erosion. Six plot has been selected according to their environmental and spatial representative and slope degree. In each plot the following data were achieved: abundance/dominant index of every vegetal community, plant cover, number of species, number of individuals of each specie and biomass. In order to evaluate the behaviour of soil against erosion the following features were studied: texture, pH, electrical conductivity, water storage capacity, porosity, density, bulk density, organic carbon, total nitrogen, equivalent calcium carbonate and calcium carbonate extractable in ammonia oxalate. Rainfall test were performed in each plot using a portable rainfall simulator; runoff and sediment yield-out data were obtained. Plots with low biomass show a high runoff and soil losses mean while plots with a high biomass, vegetal diversity and high value of surface stoniness show lower values of runoff and sediment yield-out.