Volume 14, Issue 2 (12-2025)                   2025, 14(2): 25-38 | Back to browse issues page


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Department of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Kurdistan and Dr. Hedayat Ghazanfari Center of Research and Development of Northern Zagros Forestry, Sanandaj, Iran.
Abstract:   (340 Views)
Pollarding in forest can affect quantity and dynamics of leaf litter nutrients over time. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of pollarding on the chemical properties of the oak leaf litter after fall and nine months later. A  sacred grove (less disturbed forest) stand  and a nearby pollarded forest stand (Gallajar) located in the Madjese in Baneh County, were selected. In each stand, ten plots 4×4 meters, were established and leaf litters were collected after leaf fall and nine months later in November of 2022 and July 2023 respectively. Totally, 40 leaf litter samples were collected. The measured chemical properties included carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, pH, EC, C/N and C/P ratios. The results indicated that the leaf litter of sacred grove had higher quality than the Gallajar stand at the beginning of autumn, as indicated by the higher concentration of carbon, nitrogen, and potassium, as well as a lower C/N ratio. Additionally, the rate of litter decomposition in the sacred grove was faster than the Gallajar stand. In general, pollarding affected understory microclimate conditions through the reduction of leaves and litter input. Consequently, litter quality declined, and rate of nutrient return to the soil decreased. 
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Type of Study: Research | Subject: General

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