Chronic drought alters extractable concentrations of mineral elements in Mediterranean forest soils
Mu, Zhaobin (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Asensio, Dolores (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Sardans i Galobart, Jordi (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Ogaya Inurrigarro, Romà (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Llusia, Joan (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Filella, Iolanda (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Liu, Lei (Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Agricultural Meteorology)
Wang, Xinming (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry. State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry)
Peñuelas, Josep (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)

Data:	2023
Resum:	Soil mineral elements play a crucial role in ecosystem productivity and pollution dynamics. Climate models project an increase in drought severity in the Mediterranean Basin in the coming decades, which could lead to changes in the composition and concentrations of mineral elements in soils. These changes can have significant impacts on the fundamental processes of plant-soil cycles. While previous studies have predominantly focused on carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, there is a notable lack of research on the biogeochemical responses of other mineral elements to increasing drought. In this study, we investigated the effects of chronic drought (15 years of experimental rainfall exclusion) and seasonal drought (summer period) on the extractable soil concentrations of 17 mineral elements (arsenic (As), calcium (Ca), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), mercury (Hg), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), sulphur (S), strontium (Sr), vanadium (V) and zinc (Zn)) in a Mediterranean holm oak forest. We also explored the potential biotic and abiotic mechanisms underlying the changes in extractable elemental concentrations under chronic drought conditions. Our findings reveal that soil elemental concentrations varied significantly due to seasonal changes and chronic drought, with soil microclimate, biological activity, and organic matter being the main drivers of this variability. Levels of soil water content primarily explained the observed variations in soil elemental concentrations. Most of the mineral elements (13 out of 17) exhibited higher concentrations during winter-spring (wet seasons) compared to summer-autumn (dry seasons). The chronic drought treatment resulted in K limitation, increasing vegetation vulnerability to drought stress. Conversely, the accumulation of S in soils due to drought may intensify the risk of S losses from the plant-soil system. Under drought conditions, certain trace elements (particularly Mn, V, and Cd) exhibited increased extractability, posing potential risks to plant health and the exportation of these elements into continental waters. Overall, our results suggest that alterations in mineral element concentrations under future drier conditions could promote ecosystem degradation and pollution dispersion in the Mediterranean Basin. Understanding and predicting these changes are essential for effective ecosystem management and mitigating the potential negative impacts on plant health and water quality.
Ajuts:	Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PID2020-115770RB-I Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TED2021-132627B-I00 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PID2022-140808NB-I00 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-1333
Nota:	Altres ajuts: the Fundación Ramón Areces grant CIVP20A6621
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Matèria:	Chronic drought ; Seasonality ; Mediterranean holm oak forest ; Soil mineral elements ; Extractable concentrations ; Soil water content
Publicat a:	Science of the total environment, Vol. 905 (Dec. 2023) , art. 167062, ISSN 1879-1026

DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167062

Disponible a partir de: 2025-12-30 Postprint

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