Análisis florístico y funcional de pastos de dehesa sobre suelos básicos como diagnóstico previo a la implantación de medidas de restauración

We studied the floristic composition and the taxonomic and functional diversity of the dehesa grasslands in the Tablas de Daimiel National Park. These dehesas include zones under different types of land use according to the time elapsed since cultivation was abandoned: ungrazed and uncultivated former farmland (cultivation abandoned 15 and five years previously), and fallow plots abandoned less than three years previously, with an irregular but low stocking rate. The aim of this study is to analyse the response to the natural succession and the grazing effect based on differences in floristic composition and morphological and reproductive functional traits. We also studied the relationship between floristic variation and taxonomic and functional diversity.In the spring of 2016 we created 22 floristic plots with an area of 5x5m and sampled soils in each one to analyse various soil parameters. A correspondence analysis (CA) was applied to analyse the floristic similarities among the different land use types and relate the floristic variation with soil parameters, taxonomic groups and functional traits in the ordination plot. A contour plot showing changes in diversity indexes along the first two ordination axes was built by applying a Loess Model.We found that the main floristic differences were among the ungrazed and uncultivated former farmland and grazed fallow plots. There is also a wide floristic variation among the fallow plots, some of which have an abundance of legumes, especially the Trifolieae tribe, more similar to the older uncultivated plots in their abundance of insect-pollinated and nectar plants. The highest species richness values were associated to older uncultivated lands, while the highest Shannon and Pielou indexes were also associated to some fallow plots. In conclusion, grazing can be an effective management measure for increasing multifunctionality in the Tablas de Daimiel.