Agricultural Engineering

The Effect of Land-Use Change from Forest to Paddy Field and Kiwi Orchard on Some Soil Properties (Case Study: Research Lands of University of Guilan)

Document Type : Applicable

Authors

Zekria Manavi 1
Nafiseh Yaghmaeian Mahabadi 2
Sepideh Abrishamkesh 3
Elahe Amini 4

1 MSc student, Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan, Iran

2 Associate Professor, , Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan, Iran

4 Ph.D student, Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22055/agen.2026.51321.1795
Abstract
Introduction: Land-use change in natural landscapes to agricultural lands is currently a major global concern. Land-use change and agricultural development can lead to soil degradation, erosion, and a reduced soil quality. Agricultural activity, especially rice cultivation and kiwi orchards, is the primary cause of destruction of natural forests in Guilan province. Therefore, due to the environmental importance of forests and the increased risk of degradation and land-use change, this research aimed to investigate the effects of converting forest land to paddy fields (35 years) and to kiwi orchards (7 and 14 years) on some soil physical and chemical properties.

Materials and Methods: Soil samples were collected from two depths (0-20 cm and 20-40 cm) from each land use, including forest, paddy fields, and kiwi orchards (7 and 14 years), with the same parent material. Soil samples were prepared in two categories: the disturbed soil and the undisturbed ones. After becoming air drying, the disturbed samples were sieved by a 2 mm sieve. Soil properties such as soil texture, bulk density, mean weight diameter of aggregates (MWD), pH, electrical conductivity, soil organic carbon, calcium carbonate equivalent, total nitrogen (N), available potassium (K), phosphorous (P), zinc (Zn) and Fe were measured. Also the sensitivity index (SI) and stratification ratio (SR) were calculated. This research was conducted as a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with two factors: land-use (at four levels) and depth (at two levels), using SAS software version 9.4. All soil properties were tested using one-way analysis of variance and the differences among means were analyzed using Tukey's test at a 5% probability level.

Results and Discussion: The effect of land-use on clay, sand, MWD, pH, calcium carbonate equivalent, and available K was significant. The highest amounts of sand, pH, calcium carbonate equivalent, and available K were observed in the 14 years kiwi orchard, whereas the highest contents of clay and MWD were found in the paddy fields and the forest, respectively. MWD, calcium carbonate equivalent, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, total N, available P, K, and Zn decreased significantly with increasing depth, while the clay percentage increased with depth. Forest exhibited the highest total N content, and the 14 years kiwi orchard showed the highest available P content in both topsoil and subsoil. The highest available Zn content in the topsoil was also associated with the 14 years kiwi orchard. Among the soil properties, the highest SI in the surface depth of the paddy field was related to total N, and in the kiwi orchards, it was related to the MWD.

Conclusion: The results of SI and SR showed that the soil degradation due to land-use change of forest to paddy fields was greater than that of kiwi orchards. The greater sensitivity of total N to land-use change in the topsoil and subsoil indicates that this soil property can potentially reflect long-term changes in soil conditions resulting from the conversion of forest to agricultural land. Therefore, considering the sensitivity of soil properties to forest degradation, preventing land-use change is necessary for sustainable soil management in the study area.

Results and Discussion: The effect of land use on clay, sand, mean weight diameter of soil aggregates, pH, calcium carbonate equivalent, and available potassium was significant. The highest amounts of sand, pH, calcium carbonate equivalent, and available potassium were observed in a 14-years-old kiwi orchard, while the highest amounts of clay and mean weight diameter of soil aggregates were observed in paddy fields and forest, respectively. Mean weight diameter of soil aggregates, calcium carbonate equivalent, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, potassium, and zinc decreased significantly with increasing depth, while the percentage of clay increased with increasing depth. Forest land use had the highest amount of total nitrogen, and the 14-years-old kiwi orchard had the highest amount of available phosphorus in both topsoil and subsoil. The highest amount of available zinc in the topsoil was also related to the 14-years-old kiwi orchard.

Conclusion: Stratification ratio greater than 1.5 is more important for detecting the impact of land use change on soil quality. Accordingly, it can be stated that kiwi orchards have performed better than paddy fields in maintaining soil quality. This may be due to the presence of reducing conditions and poor soil drainage in paddy fields, as well as differences in land management practices in the two land uses. Therefore, before any land use change, it is recommended to conduct land suitability assessment studies and protective management.

Keywords

Land-use change
Paddy fields
Kiwi orchard
Soil properties
Sensitivity index
Stratification ratio
Subjects
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Agricultural Engineering
Volume 48, Issue 4
December
Autumn 2026
Pages 645-627

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