Soil organic carbon in northern Spain (Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and País Vasco)

• Rosa Calvo de Anta ^[1] ; Elías Luis Calvo ^[1] ; Francisco Casás Sabarís ^[1] ; Juan Manuel Galiñanes Costa ^[1] ; Natividad Matilla Mosquera ^[1] ; Felipe Macías Vázquez ^[1] ; Marta Camps Arbestain ^[1] ; Noemí Vázquez Garcí ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

     Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

     Santiago de Compostela, España

     
• Localización: Spanish Journal of Soil Science: SJSS, ISSN-e 2253-6574, Vol. 5, Nº. 1, 2015, págs. 41-53
• Idioma: inglés
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Carbono orgânico nos solos do norte de Espanha (Galiza, Astúrias, Cantabria e País Basco)
  • Carbono orgánico en los suelos del norte de España (Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria y País Vasco)
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• Dialnet Métricas: 2 Citas
• Resumen

  • The soil organic carbon content was analyzed in more than 7,000 soil samples under different land uses, climates and lithologies from northern Spain (Galicia, Asturias, Cantábria y País Vasco). GIS maps (1:50 000) were made of the % SOC and SOC stocks. The % SOC varies according to land use (higher in forest and scrub soils and lower in agricultural soils) and climate, and there is a highly significant correlation between SOC content and mean annual precipitation. There are significant differences between the soils of Galicia/Western Asturias (GAw) and those of the rest of the study area (Central and Eastern Asturias, Cantabria and País Vasco) (AceCV), although these are neighbouring regions. In forest and/or scrub soils with a udic soil moisture regime, in GAw, the SOC is usually > 7% and the average stocks 260 t ha-1 (0-30 cm), and >340 t ha-1 (0-50 cm) in soils with thick organic matter rich horizons (> 40 cm); these values greatly exceed the average contents observed in forest soils from temperate zones. Under similar conditions of vegetation and climate in soils of AceCV the SOC average is 3% and the mean stocks 90-100 t ha-1 (0-30 cm). The andic character of acid forest soils in GAw and the formation of C-Al,Fe complexes are pointed out as the SOC stabilization mechanism, in contrast to the neutral and calcareous soils that predominate in AceCV, where the main species of OC are easily biodegradable.