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Spatial variability of soil microbial indices in common alder COMMON ALDER (Alnus glutinosa) stands using a geostatistical approach in northern Iran

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Abstract

Microbial indices and their spatial patterns are strongly affected by environmental factors. Spatial variability of soil properties is one of the most important causes of variability in soil microbial indices. This research was conducted in the Caspian forest to assess spatial variabilities and frequency distributions of microbial properties. Ninety soil samples were taken using a grid sampling design 40 × 40 m. Microbial indices, organic carbon, nitrogen and pH were determined. Soil variable distributions showed that microbial indices had abnormal distributions. Logarithmic transformation produced normal distribution. Spatial continuity using geostatistical (variogram) was studied and maps obtained by point kriging. The variograms revealed the presence of spatial autocorrelation. The results indicate that spatial dependence of soil microbial indices was affected by non-intrinsic factors and forest management procedures. The maps show that soil microbial indices and soil properties have spatial variability. The spatial pattern of microbial indices was correlated to organic carbon and nitrogen.

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Acknowledgements

We specially thanks the Iran National Science Foundation (INFS) which provided financial support through various steps of our research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Guilan, Sowmehsara, Iran

    Neda Ghorbanzadeh, Ali Salehi & Hassan Pourbabaei

  2. Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran

    Ali Ashraf Soltani Tolarod

  3. Department of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources and Marine Sciences, University of Tarbiat Modares, Noor, Iran

    Seyed Jalil Alavi

Authors
  1. Neda Ghorbanzadeh
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  2. Ali Salehi
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  3. Hassan Pourbabaei
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  4. Ali Ashraf Soltani Tolarod
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  5. Seyed Jalil Alavi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ali Salehi.

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The online version is available at http://www.springerlink.com

Corresponding editor: Chai Ruihai.

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Ghorbanzadeh, N., Salehi, A., Pourbabaei, H. et al. Spatial variability of soil microbial indices in common alder COMMON ALDER (Alnus glutinosa) stands using a geostatistical approach in northern Iran. J. For. Res. 30, 679–688 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-018-0651-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-018-0651-4

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