Nutrient status in soil of Ski runs in the sub-alpine belt of Uludag mountain, Bursa, Turkey.

ABSTRACT

Large areas of land are disturbed in sensitive bio-diverse mountain environments by Ski runs. Restoration of vegetation on such disturbed mountain sites may be hampered by soil degradation but the severity and nature of the constraints is not well understood. This study was designed to compare the water holding and nutritional status of soil in three Ski runs which had different construction dates and disturbance levels, and the adjacent undisturbed site in the Abies bornmuelleriana forest community in the sub-alpine belt of Uludag Mountain (Bithynian Olympus). The values of soil parameters were depressed in proportion to the disturbance level. Water holding capacity (WHC), total nitrogen (N), organic carbon (C) and calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+) and potassium (K+) contents (mg kg-1 dry weight) of soils in the Ski run which had the highest disturbance level were lower than that of the undisturbed adjacent sites. However, the results indicated that the soil parameters were less degraded when secondary vegetation was growing on the disturbed areas.