Journal of Environmental Biology

Nutrient status in soil of Ski runs in the sub-alpine belt of Uludag mountain, Bursa, Turkey

 

Gurcan Guleryuz*¹, Serap Kirmizi² and Hulya Arslan¹

¹Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Arts, Uludag University, Gorukle - 16059, Bursa, Turkey

²Gemlik Asim Kocabiyik Graduate Vocational School, Uludag University, Gemlik - 16600,? Bursa, Turkey

(Received: February 15, 2009; Revised received: May 02, 2009; Accepted: September 18, 2009)

 

Abstract: Large areas of land are disturbed in sensitive bio-diverse mountain environments by Ski runs. Restoration of vegetation on such disturbed mountain sites may be hampered by soil degradation but the severity and nature of the constraints is not well understood. This study was designed to compare the water holding and nutritional status of soil in three Ski runs which had different construction dates and disturbance levels, and the adjacent undisturbed site in the Abies bornmuelleriana forest community in the sub-alpine belt of Uludag Mountain (Bithynian Olympus). The values of soil parameters were depressed in proportion to the disturbance level. Water holding capacity (WHC), total nitrogen (N), organic carbon (C) and calcium (Ca²⁺), magnesium (Mg²⁺) and potassium (K⁺) contents (mg kg^-1 dry weight) of soils in the Ski run which had the highest disturbance level were lower than that of the undisturbed adjacent sites. However, the results indicated that the soil parameters were less degraded when secondary vegetation was growing on the disturbed areas.?

Key words: Abies bornmuelleriana, Forest soil, Ski runs, Sub-alpine, Soil nutrients

Copyright ? 2010Triveni 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).