Study of the recovery soil physical properties and establishment of natural regeneration in skid trails (case study: Nav-e Asalem forests)

Soil properties affected by passing the machines in skid trails and establishment of natural regeneration and herbaceous palnts in these routes after the harvesting operation could be a suitable opportunity to study the reaction of different plant species to soil conditions. This study has been done in district 1 of Nav forest, Guilan/Iran. The skid trails where have been abandoned without traffic for 10 years were chosen among the available skid trail routes. Soil samples were taken and type and the number of natural regeneration in skid trials and adjacent forests (natural forests) wre recorded. The results showed that among soil physical properties, soil bulk density, porosity, saturation moisture percentage and soil texture differed significantly between skid trail routes and natural forest. The natural regeneration of cappadocia maple, hornbeam and alder showed significant difference between natural forest and skid trails routs, while natural regeneration of beech and Velvet maple did not show any significant differences. The regeneration of alder was significantly higher in skid trail routes compared to natural forests, but for hornbeam and maple this regeneration was better in natural forest. Among soil physical properties, bulk density, porosity and soil texture showed significant correlation with amount of natural regeneration and among tree species, cappadocia maple showed the higher correlation with soil physical properties. This study showed that the natural regeneration of some species is affected by soil physical properties. In addition to the determination of natural regeneration responses to soil physical properties, the results of this study could be used in silviculture and forest management.