The soil conditions of the forests of Zala County and their impact on the growth of beech

Abstract

During the research, we studied the soil conditions in Zala County's forests and examined the effect on the growth of beech forests on these conditions. Data of National Forest Data Base (NFDB) were analysed for investigation. Most of the forests in Zala County are situated less than 150 m above sea level, their location and topography is very diverse. In most of the forests the groundwater level is deeply beneath the surface so the forests can utilize only the amount of precipitation. In accordance with the geological and climatic conditions, Luvisols were formed predominantly, especially the clayic Luvisols and the gleyic Luvisols are the most typical. In addition, there are still Cambisols and stagnic Luvisols as well. In a small percentage, there are forest stands on rendzinic Leptosols, Vertisol, Regosol and Histosol. According to the favourable parent material, forests have got a deep or medium thickness of soil and the typical texture is loam. Based on the research, soil layer thickness and texture had significant impact on the growth of beech forest stands in terms of soil properties.