Effects of Roadside on Vegetation and Some Physical, Chemical and Nutrients Availability of Soil (A Case Study: Darab-Bandar Abbas Road)

Little information is available regarding the effect of road on the adjacent vegetation and soil. The current investigation was done to study the effect of Darab-Bandar Abbas road on vegetation, soil properties and nutrient availability of the adjacent soils. For this purpose, eighteen soil samples in three different regions from the roadside and the adjacent land (50m from the road edge) were collected and the vegetation type and density were determined. Soil properties and the availability of N, P, K, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu were also determined. Roadside soil had more organic matter and sand contents and less clay content and pH in comparison to the adjacent lands. The mean contents of N, Fe, Zn and Cu available in the roadside soils were 0.13%, 4.2, 3.2 and 0.7 mg kg-1, respectively; these were significantly more than those of the adjacent lands (0.06%, 2.8, 0.6 and 0.3 mg kg-1, respectively). Vegetation of roadside was more varied, consisting of Artemisia sieberi and Astragalus fasciculifolius. Vegetation cover in the roadside (13.8%) was significantly more than that of the adjacent lands (8.5%). Generally, it could be concluded that roadside soils had a suitable moisture condition and fertility for the vegetation development and this could be considered in the soil conservation management of the roadside soils.