ALTERATIONS IN THE PARAMETERS OF MEADOW ALLUIVIAL SOIL INFLUENCED BY FOREST VEGETATION

Abstract

Introduction. Rationale of the research is driven by the need to detect regularities in the alteration of soil properties in terms of soil natural development and anthropogenic transformation. Based on the research results it is possible to adjust the activities of nature management. The research is aimed at the estimate of impact exerted by the wooden vegetation onto the parameters of meadow alluvial soil and the detection of regularities in its development. Materials and methods. The data for the current research were collected in five different flood plain ecotopes, representatives of various stages of meadow phytocenoses replacement with forest phytocenoses, which to a greater or smaller extend changed its original state of alluvial-meadow light clay soil on carbonated clay alluvium. We estimated a wide range of physical and chemical properties of soil samples using standard procedures and state-of-the-art equipment: Laser Particle Sizer ANALYSETTE 22 MicroTec plus, atomic absorption spectrophometer AAnalyst 400 (Perkin Elmer, USA, 2008), etc. The research material underwent standard procedures of computer-aided mathematical statistics with specially designed software. Results. Woody vegetation considerably changes its original state of meadow alluvial soil. First of all, it alters the microclimate under the forest canopy which results in changes in the soil formation and its parameters: in forest biogeocenoses, particularly in aspen wood, where the soil is more humid than in the meadow during dry years and on the contrary, dryer during seasons with abundant precipitations. In aspen wood the soil undergoes the most considerable changes. In aspen wood there occurs the formation of powerful humus eluvial horizon, which is richer than other ecotopes in organic substances, silt, exchange bases, movable connections of potassium and phosphorus. The soil in the aspen wood contains less Fe, Ni, Cr, Pb and Co elements than other ecotopes. The amount of these elements is especially high in larch wood soils. The highest amount of manganese is found in soil under the poplar species, while the lowest amount of manganese is found in meadows. There are minor differences between the ecotopes in terms of potassium contents.