Throughfall nutrients in a degraded indigenous Fagus orientalis forest and a Picea abies plantation in the of North of Iran
2015
Author
Parisa Abbasian (Department of Forestry and Forest Economics, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran.), Pedram Attarod (Department of Forestry and Forest Economics, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran.), Seyed M.M. Sadeghi (Department of Forestry and Forest Economics, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran.), John T. Van Stan II (Department of Geology and Geography, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA.), Seyed M. Hojjati (Faculty of Natural Resources, Sari University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.)
Abstract
<p><em>Aim of study: </em>The objective of this study was to compare<em> </em>the quantity and quality of <em>TF</em> (throughfall) in an indigenous, but degraded, stand of <em>Fagus orientalis </em>and <em>Picea abies</em> plantation.</p><p><em>Area of study</em>: Forests of Kelar-Dasht region located in Mazandaran province, northern Iran.</p><p><em>Material and Methods:</em><em> </em><em>TF</em> measured by twenty collectors that were distributed randomly underneath each stand<em>. </em>For 21 storms sampled in 2012 (August-December) and 2013 (April-June), we analyzed pH, EC, Ca<sup>2+</sup>, Mg<sup>2+</sup>, K<sup>+</sup>, NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup>, and P of gross rainfall (<em>GR</em>) and <em>TF</em>.</p><p><em>Main results:</em> Cumulative interception (<em>I</em>) for <em>F. orientalis</em> and <em>P. abies</em> were 114.2 mm and 194.8 mm of the total <em>GR</em>, respectively. The amount of K<sup>+</sup> (13.4 mg L<sup>-1</sup>) and Ca<sup>2+ </sup>(0.9 mg L<sup>-1</sup>) were higher (for both elements, <em>p </em>= 0.001) in the <em>TF</em> of <em>P. abies</em> compared to those of<em> F. orientalis</em> (6.8 and 0.5, mg L<sup>-1</sup>, respectively) and <em>GR</em> (3.2 and 0.37 mg L<sup>-1</sup>, respectively). Conversely, mean P concentration was doubled (<em>p</em> = 0.022) in the <em>TF</em> of <em>F. orientalis</em> (11.1 mg L<sup>-1</sup>) compared to <em>GR</em> (5.8 mg L<sup>-1</sup>).</p><p><em>Research highlights: </em><em>P. abies</em> plantations may provide a solution for reforestation of degraded <em>F. orientalis </em>forests of northern Iran, yet how <em>P. abies</em> plantations differentially affect the quality and quantity of rainfall reaching subcanopy soils (<em>TF</em>) compared to <em>F. orientalis</em> is unknown. Understanding the connection between hydrological processes and nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems is crucial for choosing the appropriate species to rehabilitate the degraded indigenous forests with nonindigenous species.<em> </em><em> </em><em></em></p><strong>Keywords:</strong> concentration; hydrological process; interception; reforestation.
DOI
10.5424/fs/2015243-06764
Journal
Forest Systems
Source
DOAJ