Sensitivity and Resistance to Land Use Changes of Volcanic Soils in Southern Chile

We assessed changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) content and stocks and analyzed how SOC changes affect different key soil quality indicators through sensitivity and resistance analyses. Published data have documented how land use changes (LUCs) affect organic carbon content and how this could impact other key soil properties. Studies on Chilean volcanic soils were included if they met the criteria of having data measured under natural conditions (native forest) and at least one type of agricultural land use (grassland or cropland). It has been determined that the LUCs must be at least 10 years old to provide reliable results regarding their effects on key soil properties that were soil organic carbon (SOC), bulk density (BD), total porosity (TP), air capacity (Wcp), plant available water (PAW) and pH. SOC losses resulting from LUCs were strongly soil-dependent: Andisols (Placaquands and Hapludands) were less affected (up to 16% SOC loss), while Ultisols (Palehumults) were more strongly affected (up to 42% SOC loss). Sensitivity and resistance analyses showed differing responses: Ultisols were the most resistant, indicating that SOC content changes did not significantly affect the key indicators evaluated in these soils. Conversely, the physical properties of Andisols assessed in this study exhibited a greater sensitivity to changes in the SOC content. We propose that these responses depend on the pedogenesis of volcanic soils. Changes in SOC through the evaluation of resistance and sensitivity was able to discriminate changes in soil quality between management and different volcanic soils. And there were soil-specific responses to land use changes identified in our study depend on the pedogenesis of volcanic soils. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.