Rehabilitation of eroded trails and gullies on quartzite rock outcrops with native species in a high-altitude grassland.

Autor: Medeiros MB; School of Architecture/ Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil., Cordeiro J; Department of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources/ Federal University of MinasGerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil., Silva SLL; Department of Botany /ICB/Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil., Salim IH; Department of Botany /ICB/Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil., Reis A; Department of Botany /ICB/Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil., Lacerda TJ; Department of Botany /ICB/Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil., Lobo Seabra EA; Department of Botany /ICB/Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil., Oliveira MF; Department of Botany /ICB/Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil., Moura SP; Department of Botany /ICB/Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil., Santos INR; Department of Botany /ICB/Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil., Bessa L; Department of Botany /ICB/Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil., Fonseca MT; School of Architecture/ Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil., Méndez-Quintero JD; Department of Cartography/ Institute of Geosciences/ Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil., Nero MA; Department of Cartography/ Institute of Geosciences/ Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil., Maciel-Silva AS; Department of Botany /ICB/Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil., Scotti MR; Department of Botany /ICB/Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Electronic address: mrscottimuzzi@gmail.com.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of environmental management [J Environ Manage] 2023 Jan 15; Vol. 326 (Pt A), pp. 116569. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Nov 07.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116569
Abstrakt: The quartzite rock outcrops and the native vegetation of grasslands located at the Serra da Calçada Mountain in Minas Gerais State (Brazil) have been severely degraded by extreme sports activities such as motocross and off-road vehicles, greatly damaging the abundant headwaters. The main consequences thereof were hilly and gully erosion processes with soil loss and the deviation of the water from its original paths. However, currently, there is no report of successful restoration efforts in severely eroded outcrops in Brazilian high-altitude grasslands (campo rupestre). Through the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), we found a high general erosion rate in the study site (669.91 t·ha -1 ·year -1 ), and the specific soil loss provoked by off-road vehicles on trails was significantly greater (49 m 3 per 100 m 2 ) than that caused by mountain bikes and trekking (5.8 m 3 per 100 m 2 ). We performed the physical reconstruction of eroded outcrops and surface water flow paths by allocating locally available quartzite rocks. These rocks were inoculated with different species of bryophytes and planted with native species under two treatments: un-inoculated and inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) spores of the Rhizophagus irregularis species. After 2 years, the bryophyte communities showed a similar pattern to the preserved site, and the AMF inoculation favoured plant establishment of most species, especially of the Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, Fabaceae, Malpighiaceae, Orchidaceae and Poaceae families. The AMF also improved the soil fertility, highlighting soil P, SOM, CEC, NH 4 + -N as well as soil water content and water retention capacity. Poaceae family species showed an outstanding occupation, which was considered a functional indicator of rehabilitation success, functioning as a "hydraulic carpet" for water exportation, conduction and drainage across the outcrops. This study provides an eco-technology to restore severely eroded outcrops over headwaters using native species in the Brazilian high-altitude grasslands.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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