Abstract

GARCIA-GALLEGOS, Elizabeth  and  HERNANDEZ-ACOSTA, Elizabeth. Quality indicators for forest soils within a Protected Natural Area. Rev. mex. de cienc. forestales [online]. 2024, vol.15, n.85, pp.27-47.  Epub Nov 19, 2024. ISSN 2007-1132.  https://doi.org/10.29298/rmcf.v15i85.1467.

The forest soil provides various ecosystem services; however, it does not escape the phenomenon of degradation, a situation that has repercussions on the structure of the forests. This has been particularly noticeable in the La Malinche National Park, a natural protected area in Tlaxcala, Mexico, which has large areas with a variety of disturbance conditions. The objective of this study was to determine the physical and chemical properties of forest soils to obtain quality indicators by means of a Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Two sites were selected (San Francisco Tetlanohcan and Teolocholco), and five points exhibited different disturbance and vegetation in each site. The results show a higher percentage of sand in all soils (>70 %) than of clay and silt; bulk density >1 g cm-3, low organic matter content in all soils, and variability concerning nutrient content, except for phosphorus content, which was high at all sites, possibly depending on the type of vegetation and the condition at each of the sampling points. The Principal Component Analysis showed that bulk density, porosity, usable moisture, pH, cation exchange capacity, and concentrations of Mn, Na, Cu, B, Ca and K can be used to determine the physical and chemical quality of forest soils, which would support the design of rehabilitation strategies aimed at halting soil degradation within the protected natural area.

Keywords : Soil quality; soil degradation; soil properties; soil resource; Tlaxcala; La Malinche volcano.

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