Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

CAN MINERALS IMPACT SOI! ACIDITY ?HYDROGEN ION ACTIVITY OF THE SOILS OF TAKHT-I-SULAIMAN FOREST, SRINAGAR

lrm Fatima, Mudasir Ali and G.A. Bhat

Abstract

Although it is well known that forest vegetation and other environmental factors significantly contribute to the acidic forest soils, hut the interplay of minerals from the parent materials or sub lying bed rock can change this scenario of soil pH. Similarly, the pH of the Takht-i-Sulaiman forest soil was observed to be near neutral to moderately alkaline varying between 7.34 and 7.70. The mineralogical assessment from the published literature indicates the occurrence of the feldspar-porphyry in the rocks of the study area. It is therefore speculated that it might be the effect of minerals like feldspars which result in elevating the pH of the soil.