Research Regarding the Soil Characteristics and their Influence on Forest Productivity in the Mociar Forest, Mureş County

Abstract

The Mociar Forest Reserve has a great scientific interest due to the age of the oaks ranging from 400-500 years, which is why it is included in the protected area category. Over time, a series of studies have been carried out on the occurrence of the oak drying phenomenon in the Mociar Forest in order to develop plans for measures to prevent and combat oak drying. The main reason for this was to analyze the physical and chemical properties of soils. Considering the direct influence of soil characteristics on the development of forest species within the Mociar Forest, we proposed the creation of nine soil profiles located in areas considered representative of the studied area and the identification of the main physical and chemical parameters in the laboratory stage (the soil pH, the nitrogen amount, the total humus and C:N ratio variation). According to the four factors analysed a GIS spatial analysis model has been developed in order to identify the favourability and soil restriction for forest species in the studied area. It was also sought to obtain an overall picture of the distribution of these parameters on their qualitative classes as well as on the distribution classes of specific, dominant forest species. This was made possible by the use of G.I.S. technology and specific geospatial interpolation and spatial analysis tools.

Keywords

• G.I.S. spatial analysis, interpolation, Mociar Forest, Soil characteristics