Relationships between serpentine soils and vegetation in a xeric inner-Alpine environment

• Published in: Plant and soil 2014-03, Vol.376 (1-2), p.111-128
• Main Authors: D’Amico, Michele E, Bonifacio, Eleonora, Zanini, Ermanno
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acid soils; Agricultural research; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Alpine environments; Alpine flora; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; calcium; correlation; Ecology; Edaphic factors; Endemic plants; Endemic species; Environmental aspects; Fertilizers; Flowers & plants; Forest soils; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; heat; indigenous species; Life Sciences; magnesium; Microclimate; nickel; Nutrient concentrations; nutrients; Pedogenesis; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Plant species; Plant-soil relationships; Plants; Regular Article; Rocks; Serpentine soils; serpentinite; Soil composition; Soil ecology; soil formation; Soil genesis; Soil parent materials; Soil science; Soil Science & Conservation; Soil surveys, classification and mapping, soil genesis; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments; Soils; substrate specificity; Topsoil; Trees; Vegetation; Vegetation dynamics
• ISSN: 0032-079X; 1573-5036
• DOI: 10.1007/s11104-013-1971-y

AIMS: In serpentinitic areas non-endemic plants suffer from the serpentine syndrome, due to high Ni and Mg concentrations, low nutrients and Ca/Mg ratio. We evaluated the environment-soil-vegetation relationships in a xeric inner-alpine area (NW Italy), where the inhibited pedogenesis should enhance parent material influences on vegetation. METHODS: Site conditions, topsoil properties, plant associations and species on and off serpentinite were statistically associated (51 sites). RESULTS: Serpentine soils had higher Mg and Ni concentrations, but did not differ from non-serpentine ones in nutrient contents. The 15 vegetation clusters often showed substrate specificity. Two components of the Canonical Analysis of Principal Coordinates, respectively related to Mg and to Ni and heat load, identified serpentine vegetation. Random Forests showed that several species were positively correlated with Ni and/or Ca/Mg or Mg, some were negatively associated with high Ni, Mg excess affected only few species. Considering only serpentine sites, nutrients and microclimate were most important. CONCLUSIONS: Ni excess most often precludes the presence of plant species on serpentinite, while an exclusion due to Mg is rarer. Endemic species are mostly adapted to both factors. Nutrient scarcity was not specific of serpentine soils in the considered environment. Considering only serpentine sites, nutrient and microclimatic gradients drove vegetation variability.