Soil organic carbon, NPK and carbonates as affected by topographic aspect at Chatkal state biosphere reserve mountains, Uzbekistan

Vegetation and slope play an important role in soil degradation in mountain areas. Chatkal State Biosphere Reserve is a striking geographical landscape suffering from severe ecological degradation. Therefore, this study assessed changes of soil organic matter at different slopes and altitudes (1300 and 1500 m) of the Chatkal State Biosphere Reserve (Uzbekistan). The analysis confirmed that climate change, relief, and human intervention had an impact on soil degradation. The results show that soils of the southerly-facing slope became vulnerable to soil degradation probably due to high temperature and low precipitation followed by less plant species richness. In contrast, northerly-facing slopes are associated with higher vegetation and species diversity. In general, the assessed soil samples at top layers show that soil organic matters and the amount of total NPK in southern relief is declining, whereas carbonates are increasing during 30 years, and we conclude that this can be used as an indicator of soil degradation.

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