INFLUENCE OF PERENNIAL PLANTS ON CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF ARID CALCAREOUS SOILS IN IRAN

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Abstract
We conducted a study in Bajgah (a valley in southcentral Iran; 29.degree. 32''N, 52.degree. 35''E; 1810 m above sea level) to determine the influence of perennial plants on some selected properties of soils formed on the highly calcareous parent material. The major plant genera were determined to be Agropyron, Artemisia, Astragalus, Dianthus, Eryngium, Peganum, Polygonum, Stipa, and Thymus. Tops of plant genera were found to be significantly different in ash,N,P,K,Ca,Mg,Na,Mn, Zn, and Cu; the concentration of Fe was not significantly different. We found the plants to differ significantly in their influence on soil properties. Peganum caused an accumulation of organic matter (OM) as high as 7% in the soil, in an environment where the soils typically contain less than 1% OM. Soil concentrations of P,K,Mn,Zn, and Cu were also found to vary significantly beneath different plant genera. We suggest these differences in OM accumulation were caused by plant litter. Concentration of Fe in the soils formed beneath different plant genera was statistically unchanged.