The Effects of Tree Species on Soil Organic Carbon and Soil Properties in Natural Forest and Plantations of Northern Iran (Case study: Darabkola Forest-Sari)

One of the things that keep us away from sustainable development is the increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide and consequently the rise in global temperature. Forest ecosystems and their optimal management play an important role in reducing atmospheric carbon.

In this study, the effects of natural forests and four plantations on the soil organic carbon and soil properties in Darab Kola forest were investigated. Soil samples were collected in 2016 from three depths of 0-20, 20-40 and 40-60 cm.

The results of analysis of variance of soil properties showed that there is a significant difference between the land covers and different depths in most of the studied parameters. Also, soil organic carbon storage at 0-60 cm depth from each of the coatings is reduced as follows: cypress> Alder> Natural forest> Oak> Maple.

Plantation can play an important role in absorbing carbon dioxide. Of course, different factors such as type of tree species, forestry age and depth of soil, habitat conditions and forestry operations can affect carbon sequestration.