Assessing Soil and Some Quantitative and Qualitative Characteristics of Forest Species in Semi-Protected and Degraded Regions of Marivan Forests, Kurdistan Province

This study was done in part of frontier forests in Marivan. 115 sample plots with an area of 500 m2 in non-border areas (degraded) and border areas (semi-protected) were taken with grid dimensions of 100×100 m. The results showed that average diameter at breast height (d.b.h) of Quercus brantii and Crataegus aronia (respectively 21.9 and 20.3 cm) in semi-protected region are more than degraded region (respectively 20.6 and 16.7 cm) and about Quercus infectoria in semi-protected region (33.6 cm) is less than degraded region (39.5 cm). Also, the mean crown diameter of Q. brantii, Pistacia mutica and C. aronia in semi-protected region (Respectively 4.9, 7.3 and 5.3 m) was higher than degraded region (Respectively 4.5, 5.4 and 3.9 m). No significant differences was observed between average height of tree species in two regions (α=0.05), in addition Acer monspesulanum, Quercus libani, Amygdalus scoparia, Platanus orientalis and Pyrus sp. were observed only in the semi-protected region. Results of soil analysis showed that there was a significant difference (α=5%) in pH, electrical conductivity, % of lime, % of organic matter, % of clay, % of sand, phosphorus and % of total nitrogen between semi-protected and degraded regions, while percent of silt were not significantly different. Higher quantitative variables in semi-protected region show that in this regions or similar areas the forest stock can be improved by protection of degraded forests and applying rehabilitation methods.