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Changes in Soil Microbial Biomass and Activity under Different Land-Use Types in Bartın, Northwestern Türkiye

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Contemporary Problems of Ecology Aims and scope

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine microbiological soil properties under three different land-use types within the borders of the Ulus Forestry Operations Directorate in the Bartın Stream Basin of Northwestern Türkiye. Samples of topsoil were taken to determine soil microbial biomass carbon (Cmic) and basal respiration (microbial respiration). Cmic contents of the topsoils belonging to the different land-use types ranged between 219.87 and 777.09 µg g–1. The highest average Cmic, basal respiration, and metabolic coefficient (qCO2) values of the soils were noted in the black pine forest site, whereas the average Cmic/Corg percentage was the highest in the agricultural site. Moreover, these characteristics were found to be statistically different (p < 0.05) among the black pine, rangeland, and agricultural site topsoils. This demonstrated that microbial properties, in particular, are potential biological indicators for assessing ecological changes brought about by management practices and usage of the land.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to thank the Bartın University Scientific Research Projects Commission (Project no. 2014–FEN–A-012) for the financial support of this study. We would also like to thank the valued managers and employees in all units affiliated with the Ulus Forestry Operations Directorate for their kind assistance. We would like to thank each and every one of those who accompanied us in the field and in our laboratory experiments and who extended every effort to help us, but whose names we could not write here. We are also grateful to the editors and anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions which have helped us to improve the manuscript.

Funding

Funding received from the Bartın University Scientific Research Projects Commission (Project no. 2014–FEN–A-012) for the financial support of this study is duly acknowledged.

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  1. Division of Soil Science and Ecology, Department of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Forestry, Bartın University, Bartın, 74100, Turkey

    İ. Bolat

  2. Division of Watershed Management, Department of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Forestry, Bartın University, Bartın, 74100, Turkey

    H. Şensoy

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All authors (i.e., İlyas Bolat and Hüseyin Şensoy) participated in the work in a substantive. Namely, İB and HŞ designed the work. The field and laboratory work carried out by all authors. İB and HŞ prepared the manuscript. In addition, İB and HŞ have seen and approved the manuscript as submitted.

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Bolat, İ., Şensoy, H. Changes in Soil Microbial Biomass and Activity under Different Land-Use Types in Bartın, Northwestern Türkiye. Contemp. Probl. Ecol. 16, 886–899 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1995425523060033

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