Physical and chemical properties of the soils at burned and unburned Pinus brutia Ten. forest sites in the Marmaris region Turkey

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the long-term post-fire changes to the physical and chemical properties of the soil in Pinus brutia Ten. forests found on ophiolitic rocks in the Marmaris region southwestern Turkey. Six sites that had burned at different times (3 6 8 9 16 26 years ago) and two sites that had not burned for a long time (at least 50 and 100 years) were selected. Three plots 1 ha in size were randomly selected within each site and three soil samples were collected from randomly selected points within each plot. Soil texture pH $CaCO _3$ content organic matter content electrical conductivity and exchangeable cation concentrations of the soil samples were determined. Soil texture did not vary among the study sites and percentages of sand silt and clay did not differ significantly among the study sites. Organic matter content was significantly higher at unburned sites but was similar at all the burned sites. There was no significant difference between the three-year-old site and the other sites in terms of exchangeable cation concentrations electrical conductivity pH or amount of $CaCO _3$. Although there were some slight trends with time since the fire for some of the variables evaluated soil properties did not change drastically with time or at least changed without a trend among the study sites. This was attributed both to the importance of studying early post-fire years to detect a change in soil properties and of site heterogeneity.