Effect of grazing intensity and type of livestock on physical and chemical properties of forest soil (Case study: Armardeh Forest, Baneh, Iran)

Although livestock grazing is known as a historic disturbance in forest ecosystems, but we still need more understanding about how it can affect soil properties. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of grazing intensity and type of livestock on the physical and chemical properties of soil in the Armardeh forests, Baneh County in the Kurdistan Province. Therefore, five areas were selected with different grazing intensity and livestock types. In total, 68 soil samples from 0-10 cm depth were taken and the most important physical and chemical soil factors including N, P, K, SOM, soil texture, and compaction were measured. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) method and CANOCO software were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that environmental variables are able to interpret 58.9% of the total variation. Four variables including stocking rate in grazing season, (Maraz goat+Mo goat+ sheep and cow), Mo goat+sheep, and finally Q. libani-Q. infectoria forest-type were selected as the most important variables in forward selection of RDA and responsible for 42.1% of total variation. Soil properties showed the most similarity between control and second treatment (Maraz goat with low-density grazing) and with generally lower soil compaction and higher SOM, N, K and P. On the contrary, the fifth treatment had the highest soil compaction and the lowest soil nutrient level. In conclusion, Maraz goat associated with low-intensity grazing rate caused lower effects on physical and chemical properties of soil in the study area and it can be recommended to local herder as a better adapted livestock to the Zagros oak forests.