Effects of Flooding and Fire on Some of Soil Properties in Lakan Forest in Guilan Province

Flooding and fire are important phevent which could impact the forests of north of Iran periodically. These phenomena could have undesirable effects on properties and quality of soil. This study was conducted in order to investigative the effects of flooding and fire on some soil properties in Lakan forest, Guilan province. Soil sampling was carried out on three replicates from three depths 0-3, 3-6 and 6-9 cm in flooding, burned and intact regions. Results of this study indicated that clay, silt, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), Na and K values (in all of depths), organic carbon (OC) and N values (in second and third depths) significantly increased and sand content (in all depths) significantly decreased in flooding soils in comparison with intact soils. In burned soils, pH values (in first and second depths), EC, K and P values (in first depth) significantly increased and clay, OC and N values (in first depth) significantly decreased in comparison with intact soils. Soil water retention capacity showed that the flooding and burned soils had maximum and minimum levels soil moisture that can be related to clay and OC changes. Results of WDPT test showed the water repellency in the first depth in burned soils. Generally, flooding and fire phenomena significantly affected physical and chemical properties.