DefinePK

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present research was conducted to study and compare the soil's characteristics under pine trees of district Peshawar and Mansehra of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan in the year 2022. Eight soil samples from each site i.e. Hazara University Mansehra and Botanical Garden, Pakistan Forest Institute, Peshawar were collected at a depth of 0-30 cm and brought to the Forest Chemistry Lab, Pakistan Forest Institute, Peshawar in polyethylene bags for soil analysis. Various soil parameters, including soil pH(1:5), electrical conductivity (EC)(1:5), soil organic matter (%), moisture content (%), and bulk density, were analysed. The statistical analysis was done through STATISTIX 8.1 software by using a Two-sample T-Test, and means were compared at a 95% Confidence Interval (C.I.). The results of the analysis indicated that the soil organic matter and moisture content were found higher in the Mansehra district, with respective values of 4.28% and 18.38%, compared to district Peshawar with 1.45% organic matter and 9.74% moisture content. The soil pH and bulk density were higher in district Peshawar with values of 6.43 and 1.10 gcm-3 respectively, compared to district Mansehra, where the soil pH was 5.64 and the bulk density was 0.88 g/cm3. The electrical conductivity was found to be statistically similar in both districts. The findings of this study reveals that the observed variation among the properties may be attributed to factors such as higher altitude and more annual rainfall in Mansehra, which increase the organic matter content, resulting in reduced soil pH and bulk density as well as increased moisture-holding capacity of the soil. Keywords: Soil Charateristics, Peshawar, Mansehra.