Effect of zeolite on nitrate leaching, aggregate stability and growth of Chestnut-leaved oak (Quercus castaneifolia C. A. Mey.) seedlings

With its unique properties, zeolite is important as a soil amendment in increasing the stability, health and soil productivity, and thus improves soil properties and plant nutritional and vegetative status. In this research, a potted method was used with chestnut-leaved oak (Quercus castaneifolia C. A. Mey.) seedlings. Zeolite was used at levels of 0 (control), 5, 10 and 15 wt%. To measure nitrate leaching, urea treatment was used as a nitrogen source of 0.5% by weight. Growth parameters of seedlings including height, basal diameter, biomass of root, stem, leaf and total were measured at the end of the period. The nutritional characteristics of leaf (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium), soil characteristics (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, carbon, pH, electrical conductivity, relative humidity) and aggregate stability indices including mean weight diameter (MWD), geometric mean diameter (GMD), fractal dimension (D), water aggregate stability (WSA), degree of aggregate (DOA) and station of aggregate (SOA) were measured at the end of the period. Results showed that the use of zeolite significantly increased the height, collar diameter and total biomass of plant and improvement of soil and leaf nutrients, as well as soil aggregate stability indexes. The findings of this study confirm that adding 5% zeolite have desirable effects on preventing nitrate leaching and increasing soil aggregate stability and oak seedling growth.