Background and Purpose: Beech-fir forests in Croatia have very broad edaphic amplitude. On Mt. Medvednica they are predominantly developed on dystric cambisol, but also, to a smaller extent, on several other soil types. The purpose of this paper was to investigate soil properties in these forests and establish relations with pedogenetic factors, and especially with the bedrock and the relief.
Materials and Methods: Research was based on the study of 14 soil profiles and soil samples from the horizons, and on the analysis of 39 composite samples from the surface 5 cm of soil. The following parameters were assessed from the samples: pH in water and 0.01MCaCl2, the carbonate content, and the content of biogenic elements Org C., TotalN, P,K, Ca and Mg, as well as the texture of profile samples.
Results: Dominant soils in beech-fir forests on Medvednica are dystric
cambisol and eutric cambisol. Most of the profiles are situated on moderately steep and steep slopes, so their A-horizon is colluvially influenced. All profiles were shallower than 100 cm, except for the stagnosol profile. The most variable parameter in the surface 5 cm was organic carbon, ranging from 40.9 to 367.2 g kg–1, whereas the pH value measured in water suspension oscillated between 3.69 and 7.21 and corresponded with the calcium content in the soil, with carbonate substrates in the central part of the range and with carbonate quantity in the soil.
Conclusions: The distribution range of beech-fir forests on Mt. Medvednica is highly complex both from the pedogenetic and pedophysiographic aspect. It provides a good basis for the application of more complex models of spatial prediction of soil properties, but also for phytocoenological and ecological management profiling of beech-fir forests
