Effect of Land Use Change on Potassium Chemical Fractions and Availability of Some Soil Nutrients in Darab Region, Fars Province

Land use change from forest and pasture to Rosa damascena Mill orchard can affect many soil properties and fertility. Thirty-six surface soil samples from different land uses including forest, pasture and Rosa damascena Mill orchard were collected from Morvarid region (Darab, Fars province) to evaluate the effect of land use change on soil properties and fertility. Different soil properties, macro- and micronutrients availability and soil potassium forms were determined. Results showed that the content of organic matter, soil pH and cation exchange capacity in the orchard soil were significantly lower than those in the forest and pasture soils. The nitrogen content in the orchard soil was significantly lower than that in the other land uses, however the content of available P in the orchard soil was significantly higher than that in the forest and pasture soils (39 vs. 22 and 24 mg kg-1, respectively). The availability of manganese, zinc and copper in the orchard soil was significantly higher than those in the forest and pasture soils. The contents of exchangeable K in the forest soil (749 mg kg-1) and non- exchangeable K in the orchard soil (1344 mg kg-1) were significantly higher than those in the other land uses. Generally, farmers may change the soil properties and fertility with addition of chemical fertilizers, disturbing the soil and harvesting some aerial parts of plants. Changes in soil properties and nutrients availability must be considered in agricultural land management and the results of this research, for example the decrease in content of some macronutrients and organic matter due to the land use change from forest and rangeland to orchard, can be useful to predict the consequences of land use change in the studied region and other similar regions. It is recommended that in order to maintenance of nutrients balance in orchards, P fertilizers application should be done with more consideration and the decrease in the contents of organic matter and such macronutrients as N and K should be recompensed with organic and inorganic fertilizers application.