TY - JOUR
T1 - Soil properties and perceived disturbance of grasslands subjected to mechanized military training
T2 - Evaluation of an index
AU - Althoff, D. P.
AU - Althoff, P. S.
AU - Lambrecht, N. D.
AU - Gipson, P. S.
AU - Pontius, J. S.
AU - Woodford, P. B.
PY - 2007/5
Y1 - 2007/5
N2 - Mechanized maneuver training impacts the landscape by creating depressions, compacting soils, producing bare ground areas, transporting seeds of invasive plants, and crushing vegetation. We measured 3 physical, 13 chemical, and 2 biological soil properties and used a disturbance index (DI) based on perceptions of soil conditions on a military installation to assess the condition of 100 × 100 m plots (1 ha): 10 in 2002 and 10 in 2004. Potential DI scores range from 0 (no appreciable evidence of disturbance) to 1 (>95 per cent of the plot disturbed). Bulk density, porosity (%), and water content (%) - all at 5-1-10-0cm depth, and nematode family richness (NFR) were significantly, negatively correlated (Spearman coefficients, rs) with the DI of both years. The strong negative correlation (rs., = -0.69 in 2002, -0.79 in 2004) of NFR with the DI appears to reflect the status of nematode diversity and, therefore, may serve as a useful, inexpensive approach to rapidly assessing grasslands subjected to mechanized military training.
AB - Mechanized maneuver training impacts the landscape by creating depressions, compacting soils, producing bare ground areas, transporting seeds of invasive plants, and crushing vegetation. We measured 3 physical, 13 chemical, and 2 biological soil properties and used a disturbance index (DI) based on perceptions of soil conditions on a military installation to assess the condition of 100 × 100 m plots (1 ha): 10 in 2002 and 10 in 2004. Potential DI scores range from 0 (no appreciable evidence of disturbance) to 1 (>95 per cent of the plot disturbed). Bulk density, porosity (%), and water content (%) - all at 5-1-10-0cm depth, and nematode family richness (NFR) were significantly, negatively correlated (Spearman coefficients, rs) with the DI of both years. The strong negative correlation (rs., = -0.69 in 2002, -0.79 in 2004) of NFR with the DI appears to reflect the status of nematode diversity and, therefore, may serve as a useful, inexpensive approach to rapidly assessing grasslands subjected to mechanized military training.
KW - Disturbance index
KW - Grasslands
KW - Kansas
KW - Mechanized military training
KW - Nematodes
KW - Soil compaction
KW - Soil properties
KW - USA
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34249883353&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/ldr.773
DO - 10.1002/ldr.773
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:34249883353
VL - 18
SP - 269
EP - 288
JO - Land Degradation and Development
JF - Land Degradation and Development
SN - 1085-3278
IS - 3
ER -