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Comparison of soil organic carbon content, hydraulic conductivity, and particle size fractions between a grassland and a nearby black pine plantation of 40 years in two surface depths

  • Original Article
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Environmental Geology

Abstract

In highlands of semiarid Turkey, ecosystems have been significantly transformed through human actions, and today changes are taking place very rapidly, causing harmful consequences such as soil degradation. This paper examines two neighboring land use types in Indagi Mountain Pass, Cankiri, Turkey, to determine effects of the conversion of Blackpine (Pinus nigra Arn. subsp. pallasiana) plantation from grassland 40 years ago on soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil erodibility (USLE-K). For this purpose, a total of 302 disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were taken at irregular intervals from two sites and from two soil depths of 0–10 cm (D1) and 10–20 cm (D2). In terms of SOC, conversion did not make any statistical difference between grassland and plantation; however, there were statistically significant differences with soil depth within each land use, and SOC contents significantly decreased with the soil depth (P < 0.05) and mostly accumulated in D1. SOC values were 2.4 and 1.8% for grassland and 2.8 and 1.6% for plantation, respectively, at D1 and D2. USLE-K values also statistically differed significantly with the land use, and in contrast to the statistics of SOC, there was no change in USLE-K with the soil depth. Since USLE-K was estimated using SOC, hydraulic conductivity (HC) and soil textural composition––sand (S), silt (Si), and clay (C) contents of soils––as well as SOC did not change with the land use, we ascribed the changes of USLE-K with the land uses to the differences in the HC as strongly affected by the interactions between SOC and contents of S, Si, and C. On an average, the soil of the grassland (USLE-K = 0.161 t ha h ha−1 MJ−1 mm−1) was more erodible than those of the plantation (USLE-K = 0.126 t ha h ha−1 MJ−1 mm−1). Additionally, topographic factors, such as aspect and slope, were statistically effective on spatial distribution of the USLE-K and SOC.

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Abbreviations

C:

Clay

Si:

Silt

S:

Sand

SOC:

Soil organic carbon

HC:

Hydraulic conductivity

K:

Erodibility factor

D1 :

0–10 cm

D2 :

10–20 cm

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Ankara University, Diskapi, 06110, Ankara, Turkey

    Ilhami Bayramin, Gunay Erpul & Mustafa R. Canga

  2. Department of Soil Science, Seyrani Faculty of Agriculture, Erciyes University, Develi, Kayseri, Turkey

    Mustafa Basaran

  3. Cankiri Forestry Faculty, Ankara University, 18200, Cankiri, Turkey

    Melda Dolarslan

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  1. Ilhami Bayramin
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  2. Mustafa Basaran
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  3. Gunay Erpul
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  4. Melda Dolarslan
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  5. Mustafa R. Canga
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Correspondence to Mustafa Basaran.

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Bayramin, I., Basaran, M., Erpul, G. et al. Comparison of soil organic carbon content, hydraulic conductivity, and particle size fractions between a grassland and a nearby black pine plantation of 40 years in two surface depths. Environ Geol 56, 1563–1575 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1254-8

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