EDAFOLOGÍA, Vol. 10 (3), pp. 49-55, 2003
INFLUENCIA DE LA EDAD DE ABANDONO AGRÍCOLA EN LAS PROPIEDADES DE LOS SUELOS EN TERRAZAS MARGINALES BAJO CLIMA MEDITERRÁNEO SUBHÚMEDO (ALICANTE)
M.D. SORIANO SOTO1, M.J. MOLINA2, I. LLORET1, V. PONS2
1 Departamento de Producción Vegetal, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Blasco Ibañez 21, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
2 Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación. CIDE (CSIC-Universitat de Valencia- Generalitat Valenciana), Cami La Marjal s/n. 46470-Albal, Valencia, Spain.
13 soil profiles are selected as representative of the natural and the agricultural soil in the abandoned terraces ≤ 5 to ≥ 60 years ago. The main changes in the type and the vegetal cover of soils are characterised. The overlaying soil horizons are analysed for several physical, chemical and biological properties, which are taken as indicators of soil quality. All the analysed soil properties increased with the age of abandonment. These increases, related to the changes in the vegetal cover and the organic matter content of soil, are rapid for vegetal covers >25%. Under experimental conditions similar to the studied area, the recovery of the soil properties to the quality conditions of the natural soil occurs around 60-90 years after the abandonment of the agricultural practices.
Key words: Soils, physical, chemical and biological properties, age of field abandon- ment, Mediterranean sub-humid climate.