The Influence of Plant Litter on Soil Water Repellency: Insight from 13C NMR Spectroscopy.

ABSTRACT: Soil water repellency (SWR, i.e. reduced affinity for water owing to the presence of organic hydrophobic coatings on soil particles) has relevant hydrological implications because low rates of infiltration enhance water runoff, and untargeted diffusion of fertilizers and pesticides. Previous studies investigated the occurrence of SWR in ecosystems with different vegetation cover but did not clarify its relationships with litter biochemical quality. Here, we investigated the capability of different plant litter types to induce SWR by using fresh and decomposed leaf materials from 12 species, to amend a model sandy soil over a year-long microcosm experiment. Water repellency, measured by the Molarity of an Ethanol Droplet (MED) test, was tested for the effects of litter species and age, and

SUBMITTER: Cesarano G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4811566 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature