Mountain-meadow lands of the subalpine zone of the Talysh highlands

Abstract

The mountain-grassland soils of the subalpine region are formed in the ecosystem of the mountainous part of Talish and cover a large area. The mountain-grassland lands spread in the region occupy areas between 1800 and 2500 m above sea level. The main characteristic of the species is that it is rich in organic matter, as well as subalpine vegetation spreading on the soil and perennial grasses that ensure soil fertility. Especially in grassy mountain-meadow soils (upper layer), amount of humus reaches 11.3%- 14.7%. However, the amount of humus in the mountain-meadow type soils in the mountainous part of the Lerik region varies between 4.90 and 6.70%. Morphological characteristics of mountain-meadow soils were expressed according to tillage conditions. Strong sanding and washing of the top layer of soil were observed in these soils. Those lands are divided into many genetic layers. The granulometric composition is light to medium loam, there are gravelly soils without carbonate, the thickness varies between 50-100 cm. Also, soil boiling is not observed due to alkalinity and acid reaction. Moderate to severe erosion processes are seen in such soils. In this sense, the acceleration of erosion is due to the degradation of the humus layer of the mountain-meadow soils of the subalpine region of Talish.