Comparison of Ash Properties from Burning Litter and Branches of Quercus infectoria Oliv.

Fire ash contains essential nutrients that play an important role in the forest by changing soil properties. The goal of this study was to investigate the physical and chemical properties of ash from burning litter and branches of Aleppo oak (Quercus infectoria Oliv.). Litter and dried branches with a diameter of less than 2 and 2-5 cm were collected under the canopy of eight oak trees in Dezli, Sarvabad county, Kurdistan province. The results showed that the colors of ashes were dark gray (5Y2.5/1) in the litter and light gray(5Y6/1) in both branch treatments. The amount of K, pH and electrical conductivity increased significantly in the ashes of all three treatments compared to unburned samples, while the amount of Ca, organic carbon and total nitrogen were decreased considerably in all three treatments after burning. The amount of P in the ash of the litter increased significantly compared to the unburned litter; however, its amount decreased in both branch treatments. In general, despite the similarity of the pattern of changes in all three treatments, branch treatments showed more differences during the burning than the control, indicating a higher burning of branches compared to the litter.