Investigating the organic carbon and nitrogen stock indices and mechanical properties of soil in two land uses (northeastern Iran)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
F. Samaei
H. Emami
Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
Abstract
Land use severely affects the carbon and nitrogen stock and the soil's physical, mechanical, hydraulic and chemical characteristics of the soil. This study aims to investigate the effect of land use type on some soil characteristics, including carbon stock (CS), nitrogen stock (NS), S-index, structural stability index (SSI), soil pore size distribution, soil shear strength (τ), internal friction angle (φ˚), shear cohesion (C), soil water characteristic curve (SWCC), relative field capacity (RFC), available water (AW), aeration porosity (AP) and effective porosity (Pe) in Shandiz city, Khorasan Razavi province (northeast Iran) was studied. For this purpose, 60 soil samples were taken from the surface layer (0-20 cm) in pasture and agricultural land uses. The results showed that S-Index, SSI, RFC, AW, Pe, Cs, and Ns in pasture land use were significantly higher than agricultural land use. The values of τ, C, and φ˚ in the pasture land use were significantly (p<0.01) less than the pasture land use. The relationship between soil organic carbon stock index and bulk density (r=-0.69), coarse fragments (r=-0.73), cohesion (r=-0.70), and internal friction angle (r=-0.52) were significant and negative. The amounts of carbon and nitrogen stock indices in pasture land use were 61.6 and 33.1 % greater than agricultural land use, respectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that as a result of land use change, the carbon and nitrogen stock, S-index, relative field capacity, structural stability index, available water, aeration porosity, effective porosity, and consequently, the soil quality decrease, and soil degradation increase in agricultural land use.

Keywords

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Available Online from 01 January 2024