Economic Valuation of Soil Nutrients in Shimbars Forest Protected Area Using Replacement Cost

This research was undertaken with the aim of the valuation of the main soil nutrients, placing an emphasis on the forest soil of Shimbar conservation forest in Khozestan Province. Initially, the EPM method was applied for determining erosion and, then, the amount of soil waste of the three main nutrients, namely nitrogene, phosphorus, and potassium based on the differences in soil nutrients of the control and eroded areas. Then evaluation of forest soil nutrients was conducted based on replacement method. The results of this present research showed that, in study area covering 3116ha, 468.5 tons of NPK had been lost due to erosion and this means a cost of 88,202,945,491 Rials to environment. On the other hand, the results also indicated that the studied forest can prevent eroding NPK equal to 28,306,465 Rials according to the high value of the canopy cover and forest.