The role of tree stem proximity in the spatial variability of soil water repellency in a eucalypt plantation in coastal Portugal
J. J. Keizer A C , A. J. D. Ferreira A , C. O. A. Coelho A , S. H. Doerr B , M. C. Malvar A , C. S. P. Domingues A , I. M. B. Perez A , C. Ruiz A and K. Ferrari AA Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), Department of Environment and Planning, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
B Department of Geography, University of Wales Swansea, Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK.
C Corresponding author. Email: jkeiset@dao.ua.pt
Australian Journal of Soil Research 43(3) 251-259 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR04096
Submitted: 25 June 2004 Accepted: 24 December 2004 Published: 25 May 2005
Abstract
Certain organic compounds derived from living organisms or their decaying parts are generally accepted to induce soil water repellency. Water repellency may therefore be expected to increase with proximity to organisms releasing hydrophobic compounds. This hypothesis is tested here for Eucalyptus globulus trees, since eucalypt species are frequently associated with elevated repellency levels. In a young, first-rotation plantation on coastal dune sands in central Portugal, repeat measurements of water repellency using the ‘Molarity of an Ethanol Droplet’ (MED) test were carried out in situ between April 2001 and May 2002. On 25 dates, repellency was measured at initially 2 and later 3 distances on 2 sides of 8–11 randomly selected trees. On 15 occasions, additional repellency measurements were performed within small grids aside 3 of the selected trees.
The postulated decrease in topsoil water repellency with increased distance from eucalypt tree stems was found to apply on several individual measurement dates, as well as, more unexpectedly since repellency usually is a transient phenomenon, for the study period as a whole. The results confirm the general association of eucalypt trees with water repellency, and indicate that tree stem proximity is an important but not sufficient factor to explain repellency distribution in topsoil.
Additional keywords: Eucalyptus globulus, MED test.
Acknowledgments
This work has been funded by the European Commission, under the contract FAIR6-CT98-4027, but does not necessarily reflect the Commission’s view and in no way anticipated its future policy in this area. Also the funding by the Research Institute of the University of Aveiro, through a post-graduate fellowship attributed to the first author, is gratefully acknowledged. The Departments of Physics and Geo-Sciences of the University of Aveiro are thanked for the rainfall data of the campus climate station and for the help with the some laboratory analyses, respectively. The Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra and in particular Filomena Gomes are thanked for making possible the glasshouse experiment. The 2 anonymous reviewers are gratefully acknowledged for their helpful comments.
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2 Based on crown diameter (d) measurements of 168 trees (d < 0.8 m: n = 30; d ≥ 2.0 m: n = 5).
3 Less than 10 mm/month at the University of Aveiro station compared with long-term averages of 120–130 mm/month at the Gafanha da Nazaré station (DRARN 1997).
