Evoluzione della sostanza organica in suoli rappresentativi dell’Altopiano della Sila

Organic-matter evolution of soils from Sila uplands (Calabria, Italy). Soil organic matter (SOM) has long been known for its central role in chemical, biochemical and physiological soil processes. Efforts in optimizing crop production, minimizing environmental pollution, and enhancing soil quality require a better understanding of the nature and evolution of soil organic matter for its proper management. Four sites on the Sila Mountains (representative of an area of about 9000 ha) were evaluated to study the turnover of the soil organic matter. The SOM of four sites studied undergoes to a fast mineralization process in the sites S1, S3 and S4, a pastureland, a grass-pastureland, and a cropland, respectively. An opposite trend is observed in the S2 site, under mixed forest of coniferous and broadleaf, where prevailed the humification process.