Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
LAND DEGRADATION AND DEVELOPMENT, cilt.36, ss.1-16, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
This study examined the effects of afforestation on selected hydro-physical and chemical soil properties, forest floor develop-ment, and its chemical content following the conversion of herbaceous vegetation-covered rangelands into coniferous forestswith Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) and Austrian pine (Pinus nigra) in Elazığ, Türkiye, under semi-arid and sub-humidclimatic conditions over approximately 60 years. The research also examined the forest floor characteristics developed in theseafforested areas. Afforestation with P. nigra did not significantly affect soil hydro-physical properties in either climate. However,C. libani resulted in notable improvements, especially under sub-humid conditions. In these areas, field capacity increased from18.6% to 23%, permanent wilting point moisture from 12.05% to 14.29%, and available water capacity from 6.58% to 8.72%. Bulkdensity decreased from 1.10 to 0.99 g/cm 3, enhancing porosity, aeration, water retention, and reducing erosion sensitivity. In con-trast, C. libani had negative effects under semi-arid conditions, increasing bulk density (1.16–1.28 g/cm 3) and reducing moistureretention. Chemical changes were limited overall. In semi-arid areas, C. libani reduced calcium and sodium, while P. nigra low-ered nitrogen content. Both species increased magnesium in sub-humid areas while decreasing carbon and nitrogen levels. Theforest floor in the afforested areas was very thin and weakly developed. While the leaf layer was present in all plots, the humusor fermentation layers were sometimes absent. In conclusion, C. libani showed more positive impacts on topsoil's hydro-physicaland chemical properties than P. nigra, particularly under sub-humid conditions, supporting its potential for afforestation in sim-ilar climate conditions.