Effects of Persian turpentine tree litter and slope aspect on soil chemical properties in a Zagros forest, Iran
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Effects of Persian turpentine tree litter and slope aspect on soil chemical properties in a Zagros forest, Iran Parasto Rostamizad1 • Vahid Hosseini2 • Kyumars Mohammadi Samani2
Received: 26 April 2018 / Accepted: 28 August 2018 Northeast Forestry University 2019
Abstract For analyzing the effects of forest litter and slope aspect on soil properties eight soil samples were collected at a depth of 0–10 cm near (i.e., beneath the crown) and away from (i.e., not influenced by crown) five Persian turpentine trees each on a north and a south slope at the same elevation in a Zagros forest, Iran. The litter beneath tree crowns and slope exposure were found to have significant interactive effects on C, N, P, K, and electrical conductivity of the soils, however, Ca, Mg and the soil pH were not significantly influenced by these factors. The soil beneath the crowns was enriched in cations compared to more distal positions. Generally, Persian turpentine trees have positive impacts on soil properties in the forest. Degrading or killing these trees by sap extraction, extreme grazing, cutting, fire and expansion of agriculture will lead to significant losses in soil fertility and increases in soil erosion. Keywords Anacardiaceae Iran Litter of tree crown Persian turpentine tree P. atlantica Desf., soil properties Zagros
Project funding: The paper was supported by research grants of the University of Kurdistan, Iran. The online version is available at http://www.springerlink.com Corresponding editor: Zhu Hong. & Vahid Hosseini [email protected]; [email protected] 1
Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran
2
Department of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran
Introduction The quantity of soil organic matter determines soil quality and potential productivity in semi-arid areas (Sayad et al. 2010). Vegetation is the key factor determining soil properties because plants deliver organic matter to the soil (Hosseini et al. 2012). Trees influence organic matter decomposition and soil properties by variations in their uptake of available nutrients from the soil and resulting effects on the dynamics of litter decomposition (Rossetti et al. 2015). Particularly in arid and semiarid mountain ecosystems, the litter that accumulates on the soil surface from single trees is a key factor impacting soil properties (Rhoades 1996). Single trees change the properties of the soil beneath their crowns by influencing temperature and moisture, nutrient availability, and cation exchange capacity. Particularly in mountainous and semiarid forest ecosystems, where water and moisture limit plant growth, slope aspect is a more important factor for plant growth than elevation because slope aspect affects the duration and intensity of solar input to the landscape (Coble et al. 2001). Mean annual precipitation, soil moisture and soil concentrations of cations and nutrients on north- and east-facing slopes are greater than on south- and west-facing slopes a
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