The role of Hackberry "Celtis caucasica" as nitrogen-fixing trees on understory’s soil properties in reserved area in Ardasteh-Dehaghan in Isfahan

Dehnavi Somayeh, Matinkhah SayedHamid, Nourbakhsh Farshid, ” The role of Hackberry "Celtis caucasica" as nitrogen-fixing trees on understory’s soil properties in reserved area in Ardasteh-Dehaghan, Isfahan” Iranian Journal of Forest and Poplar Research, 2014.

Abstract

Nitrogen-fixing trees (NFT) or trees that have the ability to sequestrate nitrogen in soil, could increase organic matter in the understory’s soil. These trees can increase fertility of soil by adding large amount of nitrogen to soil and also supply necessity of the understory’s plants or NFTs to this element. This study was conducted to investigate the role of “Celtis caucasica” as nitrogen-fixing tree on understory’s soil fertility and plants in a reserved area called Ardasteh-Dehaghan at Isfahan province of Iran. For this reason, soil sampling was made from two locations (the tree’s understory and outside it or control) and three depths from soil surface (0-20, 20-40 and 40-60 cm) under the randomized complete blocks statistical design. The studied soil properties consisted of: pH, EC, CaCO3, organic carbon, mineral nitrogen, total nitrogen and particle density. Furthermore, a criterion plant from the tree’s understory was analyzed at laboratory scale to test effects of the trees on amount of total nitrogen, protein and plant production. Results showed that the greatest amounts of soil’s lime, mineral nitrogen and total nitrogen as well as the criterion plant’s organic carbon, total nitrogen, protein and production was gained at soil depth of 0-20 cm of the hackberry’s understory. These amounts were reduced as soil depth increased.

Key words: criterion plant, soil fertility, pH, EC, CaCO3, organic carbon

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