Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
- Vahideh Moradzadeh 1
- Ardavan Ghorbani 1
- Leila Nemati Sham-Asbi 1
- Mehdi Moameri 1
- Zeinab Hazbavi 2
- Ali Teymourzadeh 1
- Behzad Behtari 3
1 Department of Rangeland and Watershed Management, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mohaghegh Ardabili University, Ardabil, Iran.
2 Department of Rangeland and Watershed Management, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Member of the Research Institute of Water Management, Mohaghegh Ardabili University, Ardabil, Iran.
3 Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences, Sari, Iran.
Abstract
Rangelands, as natural ecosystems, play a significant role in maintaining carbon balance of the environment. This study aimed to Identification of Carbon Sequestration Patterns under the Influence of Climatic, Soil, and Topographic Factors in the Rangelands of Northern Sabalan, located in Meshginshahr County. Soil sampling was conducted in two types of vegetation cover- grassland and shrubland- across four main geographical directions and at two soil depths (0–15 and 15–30 cm). Data were collected for 24 different soil properties. To perform statistical analyses, the normality of the data was first assessed, followed by a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Duncan’s multiple range test to compare the mean values of different properties between grasslands and shrublands. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was also used to evaluate data structure. The results revealed that clay content, silt, organic carbon, particulate organic carbon, total nitrogen, and soil carbon sequestration were significantly higher in grasslands than in shrublands (p<0.01). In contrast, sand content, pH, and electrical conductivity were significantly higher in shrublands than in grasslands (p<0.01). The northern slope exhibited higher levels of clay, silt, organic carbon, and carbon sequestration compared to the southern slope. Additionally, increasing soil depth led to decreases in organic carbon, total nitrogen, and carbon sequestration. PCA showed that the first two components explained 36.30% of the total variance. Sand content, precipitation, and organic carbon having the highest correlation with the first component, while slope percentage and litter showing the strongest correlation with the second component. These findings indicate that soil physical and chemical properties- particularly those affected by climatic gradients and topography- significantly influence carbon sequestration.
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