Relationship between leaf area index and phisiographical and edaphical condition in a Quercus macranthera stand (Case study: Andebil's forest, Khalkhal)

Abstract

This study attempted to investigate leaf area index in Quercus macranthera coppice stand. A forest of 278 hectares located at the northeast of Khalkhal was selected as the study region. The leaf area index was determined by direct method and by collecting all the leaves from the 60 coppice sprouts and measuring the mean leaf area and crown cover area of each coppice group. To determine the soil properties and its relation to the leaf area index, samples from the depth of 0 - 10 and 10 - 30 cm was selected. Physical (percent of clay, silt and sand) and chemical (amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, organic carbon and pH) properties of soil samples were determined in the laboratory. As a result, the leaf area index of oak species was 3.33 and the average dry weight of leaf was estimated to be 1864 kg/ha. No statically significant relations were observed between the phisiographical conditions and crown canopy density to the leaf area index. Considering the characteristics of the stand and soil, the aboveground biomass, diameter at breast height, tree height and the soil nitrogen showed the maximal correlation with the leaf area index