land use optimization on some physical and chemical properties of soil and its erodibility index in Avard rangelands

Todays, conversion of forests and rangelands to croplands has made concern about soil and environmental degradation and global climate change. Knowledge of the effects of land use change on soil properties is necessary and can be a solution for identifying sustainable managements in any region in order to prevent soil degradation and reach to sustainable production and environmental purposes, either. In the past decades, large part of Avard rangelands has been converted to croplands. In recent years, gardening on these low efficiency agricultural lands has been suggested. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of gardening on some soil physical and chemical properties compared with rangeland and cropland in Avard region. At first, the study area was identified by field survey and then, three composite soil samples were obtained from depth of 0-30 cm of key area of each treatment (rangeland, walnut Garden, walnut – apple garden, cereal farm, and frijol farm). Some soil physical and chemical properties including texture, aggregate stability, bulk density and porosity, organic carbon, pH, and electrical conductivity were measured in laboratory and soil erodibility index was calculated by using the modified clay ratio relation. Data analysis was performed by SPSS.16.0 software and one way analysis of variance. In order to compare the means of studied parameters, tukey test at a significance level of 5% was applied. The results demonstrated that soil aggregate stability and electrical conductivity were significantly improved (P0.5). According to the results, it can be concluded that the best land use in the study area is natural rangelands. Establishment of orchards in the low efficiency arable lands of the study area is recommended, either.