Use of magnetic measures to assess soil redistribution following deforestation in hilly region

Limited information is available about the use of magnetic susceptibility property to determine soil redistribution in hilly areas of the semi-arid regions. This study was conducted to evaluate the use of magnetic properties to determine soil redistribution along a hill slope following deforestation. The study area is located in the Quaternary hilly region of Lordegan district in west Iran. Ten transects were established in two land uses that included natural Querqus forested and cultivated lands. Soil samples were collected at different positions along the slope and magnetic properties (chi lf, chi hf, SIRM, ARM, and chi fd) and selected physicochemical properties were determined. The results (based on the chi fd, SIRM/ARM) showed that the magnetic susceptibly in the calcareous materials is pre-dominantly derived during the pedogenic processes and the superparamagnetic particles which were transported to lower positions of hill slope following deforestation. The results confirmed that this methodology could be applied for monitoring soil redistribution along the slope in calcareous hilly areas in the semi-arid regions. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.