Evaluation of soil and leaves nutrients concentration of beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) in different development stages of a beech stand (Case study: Raze forest, Guilan)

This study evaluated soil and nutrient concentration in different phases of developmental cycle in untouched habitat of oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) in Guilan province. Three sampling plots (one ha in each site) were selected, with each plot divided into four sub-plots of 10 ×10 m each. Soil samples were taken from the corner and center of each sub-plot. After air drying, soil properties were measured. At each plot, 10 trees were randomly selected and leaves were sampled from different expositions. The samples were transferred to the laboratory, dried at 40 ° C, ground and further used for the analysis. Nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, manganese and iron were measured. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted on the data. Mean comparisons were carried out by Duncan’s multiple range tests (P ≤ 0.05). Percentage of organic carbon and soil organic matters in decay stage were greater than the other stages. Furthermore, the exchangeable content of K and available P in initial stage was greater in both depths. Mineral nutrition and organic matter in soil surface was greater than soil depth. In addition, leaves analysis showed that the nitrogen in the decay stage was greater than in other stages, whereas the other elements do not notably change. Nutrient uptake was independent of the amount of nutrients in the soil. The results showed that despite differences in the amount of nutrients leaves of beech trees in various stages of evolution the range of nutrients show the health of this ecosystem.