Shrub packs and irrigation to rehabilitate semiarid regions disturbed by the laying of pipelines
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25260/EA.13.23.1.0.1193Keywords:
compaction, vegetation establishment, gas pipeline, brushpacks, Patagonia, soil propertiesAbstract
The installation of underground pipelines generally requires the removal of the vegetation cover and has the potential, along with the heavy traffic associated with the installation, to affect the soil quality. In this study we assessed the effect of application of “quilembai” (Chuquiraga avellanedae Lorentz) branches on selected soil properties and vegetation recovery in two sites disturbed by the installation of a pipeline: i) an area where the vegetation and topsoil were removed and affected by heavy machinery traffic (Zone 1), and ii) an area where the vegetation and topsoil were removed and, after the pipeline was installed, they were redistributed over the disturbed area (Zone 2). Branches were applied at two application rates, without or with irrigation. There was also an irrigation treatment and a control. Ten months after the treatments were applied, soil water content, bulk density penetration resistance, infiltration rate, soil organic C and Olsen-P were determined. The density of plants in each plot was determined at the beginning and 10-months post treatment application. The treatment application increased soil water content, although with a varying effect among zones and we did not detect treatment effects on other soil variables. Plant density, mainly that of Nassella tenuis (Phil.) Barkworth, increased in all the treatments with branches of the zone 1, with positive effects of application rates as well as irrigation, while zone 2 did not reveal effects of treatments. Although in 10-months post-application the quilembai branches and irrigation had no significant effects on the soil physical and chemical properties, they increased plant establishment, accelerating the pace of vegetation recovery.
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