Comparison of nutrient elements and elements retranslocation of Acer velutinum, Zelkova carpinifolia and Pinus brutia in Darabkla-Mazindaran

Decline in natural forests area due to various factors has caused the importance of plantation which is carried out with the aim of developing forest surface and wood production. Therefore, assessing the nature of plantations can play an important role in creating forests with better quality and quantity in the future. Nutritional status of habitat is an important qualitative factor in forest stand. The primary sources of nutrient elements in soil and leaf are nutrient retranslocation of old leaves. Retranslocation, movement and transfer of nutrient elements from aging leaves to tissue reservoirs occur each year, which is a key process in most ecosystems. In this study, the amount of nutrient elements (Ca, K, P, N, Mg) in summer and autumn leaves and amount of retranslocation of these elements in three plantation species (Acer, Zelkova and Pinus) of Darabkla-Mazindaran were measured. Sampling was conducted in two stages, one in mid-summer during ascending period of nutritional dynamism of trees, and the second stage in mid-autumn simultaneously with the beginning time of leaf fall in the same trees previously sampled. Results showed that there is difference between nutrient elements in summer and autumn leaves in the studied species. The magnitude of nutrient retranslocation was obtained in order of: P>Ca>N>Mg>K. Among the studied species, the highest retranslocation of Ca and Mg were determined in Acer, N and K in Zelkova and P in Pinus. The results of this study showed that the studied species had different nutritional elements and also different amounts of element retranslocation. Since the studied species had been raised under similar conditions, therefore it could be concluded that these differences are due to genetic variation of species.