0000000000230121
AUTHOR
Martin F. Jurgensen
Ant mounds as a source of sediment on citrus orchard plantations in eastern Spain. A three-scale rainfall simulation approach
Abstract Ants are widely found in Mediterranean soils, where they increase water infiltration rates by forming soil macropores during nest construction. While higher water infiltration usually results in lower soil erosion rates, new soil brought to the surface by ant activity could increase sediments available for erosion. This could be especially important in intensively-managed citrus orchards, where surface mineral soil is exposed due to the lack of vegetation cover as a consequence of herbicide treatments. In the summer of 2009 rainfall simulations of low frequency–high intensity rainstorms were conducted in an orange orchard in eastern Spain on plots that contained ant nests and adjac…
The influence of ants on soil and water losses from an orange orchard in eastern Spain
Herbicide applications have greatly reduced plant cover, and increased soil erosion on a new orange orchard planted on valley slopes in eastern Spain. This has increased the importance of soil fauna, such as ants, in regulating soil erosion processes. Ants increase water infiltration rates by forming soil macropores during nest construction, but new soil brought to the surface by ant activity could increase the sediments available for erosion. Simulated rainfall experiments were conducted on 20 paired plots (20 with ant activity and 20 controls) to study the impact of ants on surface water flow and sediment movement in an intensively managed orange orchard near Valencia, Spain. Simulated ra…