Evaluating the effects of slopes and some management practices on carbon sequestration and soil cations (Case study: Kalpush plan, North Khorasan)

The effects of slope changes and some management practices on carbon sequestration and soil cations were studied in the kalpush plan - North Khorasan province. The soil samples were collected in the restored area and control sites using systematic- random method. Soil samples with five replications in each site were then collected from 0-15 centimeters of soil surface with five slope position (summit, shoulder, back, foot and toe slopes). In all slope positions, soil sampleswere taken from understory of Atriplex in contour furrows and its nearby open areas (50 soil samples from the area under management practices and 25 soil samples from control sites).. Some soil characteristics including bulk density, organic carbon, nitrogen, porosity, sequestrated carbon, Na, Ca, Mg, K, and CEC of collected samples were then measured. Analysis of variance and LSD test were used to analyze the data. According to the results, nitrogen content, organic carbon and sequestrated carbon in control sites and summit position were 0/74%, 5.28% and 56.13 ton c/ha respectively and had significantly higher than other sites. Also the amounts of cations under plant species were significantly more than between plants and control sites.