Shrubs with diverse ecological functions cover a large area of arid and semi-arid lands. Evaluation of changes in soil properties in shrublands can be effective in understanding the ecological relationships of these biomes and their nutritional status for land managemen More
Shrubs with diverse ecological functions cover a large area of arid and semi-arid lands. Evaluation of changes in soil properties in shrublands can be effective in understanding the ecological relationships of these biomes and their nutritional status for land management. In this research, the spatial changes of soil fertility characteristics based on patch structure and open spaces between patches were studied in pure shrubs including Artemisia sieberi, Scariola orientalis and Astragalus myriacanthus types located in the ari lands of the central plateau of Iran. The evaluation of soil yield characteristics and soil quality was investigated by selecting the reference open space between the patches and recording the morphological characteristics of the patches to study the relationship between them. The results showed that the properties of organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus and soil quality index (SQI) had the most significant changes between the type of shrubland and in the space between patches in each type (P<0.01). The highest value of the soil quality index was related to the under canopy in A. myriacanthus type and was equal to 0.87, and the lowest value was related to the central point of the open space in A. sieberi type and was equal to 0.22. The functional characteristics of plants such as biomass, height and canopy showed the highest correlation with the spatial distribution of elements and soil fertility factors in the open space areas (P<0.05).
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