The Influence of Slope Positions on the Recovery Response of Compacted Soil Properties and Enzyme Activity in an Oriental Beech Stand in the Hyrcanian Forests, Iran

Meghdad Jourgholami, Alireza Ramineh, Ghavamodin Zahedi Amiri and Eric R. Labelle
Additional contact information
Meghdad Jourgholami: Faculty of Natural Resources, Department of Forestry and Forest Economics, University of Tehran, Karaj 999067, Alborz, Iran
Alireza Ramineh: Faculty of Natural Resources, Department of Forestry and Forest Economics, University of Tehran, Karaj 999067, Alborz, Iran
Ghavamodin Zahedi Amiri: Faculty of Natural Resources, Department of Forestry and Forest Economics, University of Tehran, Karaj 999067, Alborz, Iran
Eric R. Labelle: Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technische Universität München, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, D-85354 Freising, Germany

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 7, 1-13

Abstract: Several studies emphasize the effects of slope position on divergences of soil properties in forest ecosystems, but limited data is available on the impact of slope position on recovery levels of soil, which were exposed to compaction due to machine traffic. This study examined the effects of slope position (i.e., S; summit, BS; backslope, and TS; toeslope) on recovery rate of soil properties and enzyme activity four years after ground-based harvesting operations were performed on machine operating trails, compared to the undisturbed areas (UND) in the Hyrcanian forests (north of Iran). Soil properties and enzyme activity of compacted soil in machine operating trails showed significant trend differences among the slope positions. A significantly lower soil bulk density, penetration resistance, soil moisture, aggregate stability, pH, sand, and C/N ratio were found in TS compared to the values recorded in the BS and S treatments. Conversely, total porosity, macroporosity, silt, clay, organic C, total N, available nutrients (i.e., P, K + , Ca 2+ , and Mg 2+ ), fulvic and humic acid, earthworm density and dry mass as well as fine root biomass were higher in TS than in the BS and S treatments. Soil microbial respiration, MBC, NH 4 + , NO 3 − , N mineralization, and MBN were significantly higher in the UND areas followed by TS > BS > S treatment. The highest activity levels of enzymes (i.e., urease, acid phosphatase, arylsulfatase, invertase, and ß-N-acetylglucosaminidase) were detected in the UND areas, followed by TS > BS > S treatment. The highest recovery levels of all soil properties and enzyme activity were found in TS, followed by BS > S treatment. However, the full recovery of soil properties did not occur even after a 4-year period, compared to the UND areas. Our study results highlight the significance of the slope position in augmenting divergence in soil properties and enzyme activity after ground-based machine traffic.

Keywords: soil compaction; soil integrity; machine operating trail; mechanized harvesting; sustainable forest management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/7/1940/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/7/1940/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:7:p:1940-:d:219123

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().