The relations between soil hydrophobicity and vegetation in abandoned arable fields on sandy soil

Abstract

The study aimed to find the significant relations between the dominant plant species of secondary succession of lasting abandonment of agricultural fields on sandy soil in central Poland, and soil water repellency strength. The critical soil moisture content for hydrophobicity for individual sites ranged from 10.7 to 16.7%, and the differences were not statistically significant. After periods of prolonged drought, all abandonment agriculture fields indicated lower soil moisture content than critical threshold (10.7–16.7%) for soil water repellency. The soil water repellency was assessed as extreme class based on Water Drop Penetration Time (WDPT) test. The relationship between the main dominant species cover and WDPT test was diverse, with Agrostis gigantea agg. and Avena sativa as a species reaching highest cover within low values of WDPT. Inexpertly Betula pendula agg. (unexpectely) and Pinus sylvestris dominated sites with the highest values of WDPT test. The conducted research indicates that due to climate change, leaving sandy soils in warm temperate climate without an alternative management plan may pose a significant environmental risk.