Journal of Environmental Biology

Physical, chemical and pedogenetical properties of soil in relation with altitude at Kazdagi upland black pine forest

 

Orhan Sevgi* and Huseyin Baris Tecomen

Department of Soil Science and Ecology, Faculty of Forestry, Istanbul University, TR-34473 Bahcekoy-Istanbul, Turkey

(Received: July 30, 2007; Revised received: April 03, 2008; Accepted: May 10, 2008)

Abstract: In this study an attempt was made to investigate the physical, chemical and pedogenetical soil properties of black pine forests at over 1400 metre (m) altitude of Kazdagi mountainous uplands. Soil? profiles (37 numbers) were dug, examined and sampled considering the horizons and soil volume weight, fine soil weight, stoniness, pH, total nitrogen, soil organic carbon and pedogenesis alterations were tried to be explored in relation with elevating altitude. While the altitude increased, soil organic carbon and total nitrogen values decreased at A horizon, and pH decreased at Bw horizons. Soil volume weight, fine soil weight, stoniness values of A horizon has positively and strong correlation with elevation with the coefficient values 0.699, 0.518 and 0.573 respectively at 0.01 significance. The highest regression values between altitude and volume weight, soil organic carbon contents (%) and soil total nitrogen contents (%) were detected with R² coefficients 0.489, 0.295 and 0.247 for A and 0.556, 0.311 and 0.286 for Bw horizons respectively. The achieved results reveal that the elevation effect is remarkable in particular for the uppermost soil horizons. Furthermore the soil generation in fact functions well up to 1550 m altitude at Kazdagi mountainous land where we determined that at upper elevations Inceptisols replace with Alfisols in comparison with each other.

Key words: Altitude, Upland soil, Pinus nigra Arnold

PDF of full length paper is available with author (* osevgi@istanbul.edu.tr)

Copyright ? 2009 Triveni Enterprises. All rights reserved. No part of the Journal can be reproduced in any form without prior permission. Responsibility regarding the authenticity of the data, and the acceptability of the conclusions enforced or derived, rest completely with the author(s).