Legume-rich sown permanent pastures in Iberian Dehesas: influence on biodiversity and soil carbon sequestration

摘要

The sowing of legume-rich mixtures in Dehesas (commercially known as Sown Biodiverse Permanent Pastures Rich in Legumes, SBPPRL) is gaining importance due to the improvements on soils, increase of biodiversity and carbon-fixation strengthening, whichnot only makes the Dehesa a more profitable system, but also a more resilient ecosystem to face climate change. Our research focuses on the evaluation of the persistence and the adaptation to the canopy shade microhabitat of legume-rich mixtures. The study included a chronosequence of pastures sown among 2002 and 2015, in seven Dehesa farms of western Spain. The biodiversity of sown plots increased immediately relative to unsown control plots and persisted higher during at least 12 years. A positive tendency in carbon sequestration was also observed. Positive trends were, irrespective of the habitat, beneath and outside the tree canopy projection.