Effect of Land Use Change on Some Fertility and Biological Properties of the Soils of Yasouj Forest Region

Soil resources are important components of the ecosystem, and therefore, their quality should be considered. One of the important factors affecting the quality of soils is land use change. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of land use change and deforestation on some soil fe...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: H.R. Owliaie, E. Adhami, M. Najafi Ghiri
Format: Article
Language:fas
Published: Isfahan University of Technology 2023-12-01
Series:علوم آب و خاک
Subjects:
Online Access:http://jstnar.iut.ac.ir/article-1-4327-en.pdf
Description
Summary:Soil resources are important components of the ecosystem, and therefore, their quality should be considered. One of the important factors affecting the quality of soils is land use change. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of land use change and deforestation on some soil fertility and biological characteristics in the forest area of the Yasouj region. In this area, four land uses of dense forest, sparse forest, deforested (degraded) lands, and rainfed agriculture were randomly sampled from two slope classes. In each land use 10 soil surface samples were taken. Fifteen soil fertility and biological characteristics were measured using routine methods. The results showed that dense forest and deforested (degraded) lands had the best and worst conditions, respectively, in terms of the measured parameters. Among the measured characteristics, the values of alkaline phosphate, exhaled respiration, nitrogen, basal respiration, acid phosphatase, manganese, and zinc showed the greatest decrease respectively, and the values of phosphorus and potassium exhibited the least decrease, as a result of land use change from dense forest to degraded lands. The findings showed that the conversion of ecosystems such as forests to agricultural lands or deforestation has led to a severe decrease in the fertility and biological indicators of soil quality. Therefore, the protection programs of these areas should be more considered.
ISSN:2476-3594
2476-5554