Journals / Turkish Journal of Range and Forage Science / 2025 / Volume: 6 Issue: 2

Determining Economically Optimal Fertiliser Doses in Eastern Anatolian Natural Rangelands: A Fertilisation Study Data Revisited

Abdurrahman Kara(DİCLE ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0001-7207-2589
Pages
—
Publication Date
2025-12-25
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Results indicated that nitrogen had a limited standalone impact but showed synergistic benefits when combined with phosphorus in moderate-to-good condition rangelands.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:This study aimed to identify economically optimal nitrogen and phosphorus rates along with examining their synergistic effects and climate variables in Eastern Anatolia’s natural rangelands.
📊
Key Findings & Data:Results indicated that nitrogen had a limited standalone impact but showed synergistic benefits when combined with phosphorus in moderate-to-good condition rangelands.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:Achieving resilient agricultural landscapes and sustainable outcomes requires adaptive fertilisation practices and continuous monitoring.
🔬Design:Lab & Field Experiment
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Economic analysis · Nitrogen and phosphorus · partial budget

Abstract

This study aimed to identify economically optimal nitrogen and phosphorus rates along with examining their synergistic effects and climate variables in Eastern Anatolia’s natural rangelands. Using data from a prior fertilisation trial, pooled regression models, descriptive statistics, and partial budget analysis were employed. Results indicated that nitrogen had a limited standalone impact but showed synergistic benefits when combined with phosphorus in moderate-to-good condition rangelands. While moderate-condition rangeland exhibited notable improvements, these were not statistically significant compared to poor-condition rangeland. Good-condition rangelands responded weakly to fertilisation, suggesting inherent productivity limits marginal gains. Economic analysis confirmed diminishing returns at higher input levels, supporting lower fertiliser rates in moderate rangeland. Optimal doses were determined as 90 kg·ha⁻¹ nitrogen and 40 kg·ha⁻¹ phosphorus for poor-condition rangelands, and 30 kg·ha⁻¹ nitrogen with 40 kg·ha⁻¹ phosphorus for moderate and good rangeland sites. Results also revealed that seasonal humidity, although only marginally significant, had a more pronounced effect than temperature or precipitation, highlighting its potential role as a moderating climatic variable in fertilisation outcomes. The study concludes that rangeland fertilisation strategies should be site-specific, balancing ecological context with economic feasibility. Prioritising poor-condition degraded rangelands may offer long-term restoration benefits, not necessarily for immediate economic returns, but for their potential in enhancing productivity recovery and ecological restoration towards historical benchmarks. Achieving resilient agricultural landscapes and sustainable outcomes requires adaptive fertilisation practices and continuous monitoring.

🔖

Cite This Article

Kara, A. (2025). Determining Economically Optimal Fertiliser Doses in Eastern Anatolian Natural Rangelands: A Fertilisation Study Data Revisited. Turkish Journal of Range and Forage Science, Volume: 6 Issue: 2. https://doi.org/10.51801/turkjrfs.1765045

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (61)

  1. Adkins, L. C., & Hill, R. C. (2011). Using Stata for principles of econometrics. John Wiley & Sons.
  2. Algan, D., Aydın, İ., & Ocak, N. (2018). Economic analysis of fertilization based on nutritional value of rangeland: A new opinion. Anadolu Tarım Bilimleri Dergisi, 33(3), 246–253. https://doi.org/10.7161/omuanajas.404991
  3. Allison, P. D. (2012). When can you safely ignore multicollinearity? Statistical Horizons. https://statisticalhorizons.com/multicollinearity/
  4. Altın, M., Gökkuş, A., & Koç, A. (2005). Meadow and pasture rehabilitation. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
  5. Altın, M., Tuna, C., & Gür, M. (2010). Effects of fertiliser application on forage production and botanical composition of floodplain and steppe rangelands of Tekirdağ. Tekirdağ Ziraat Fakültesi Dergisi, 7(2), 191–198.
  6. Anonymous. (1993). Meteorological data. Turkish State Meteorological Service.
  7. Anonymous. (2018). Rangeland regulation under Law No. 4342. https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr
  8. Anonymous. (2024). Tarım Kredi fertiliser prices. https://www.devletdestekli.com/tarim-kredi-dap-26-azot-gubre-fiyatlari-guncel/
  9. Anonymous. (2025a). Meadow, pasture and forage crops. Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. https://www.tarimorman.gov.tr/Konular/Bitkisel-Uretim/Cayir-Mera-ve-Yem-Bitkileri/
  10. Anonymous. (2025b). Official records. Eastern Anatolia Agricultural Research Institute.
  11. Avağ, A., Koç, A., & Kendir, H. (2012). Result report for the National Rangeland Utilisation and Management Project (TÜBİTAK Project No. 106G017). Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
  12. Aydın, F., & Uzun, F. (2005). Yield response of rangeland forage to nitrogen and phosphorus under variable moisture conditions. Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 29(4), 267–274.
  13. Aydın, İ., & Uzun, F. (2005). Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilisation of rangelands affects yield, forage quality and botanical composition. European Journal of Agronomy, 23(1), 8–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2004.08.001
  14. Balabanlı, C., Albayrak, S., Türk, M., & Yüksel, O. (2009). Problems on rangeland law No. 4342: Application and solutions. Turkish Journal of Forestry, 7(1), 75–81. https://doi.org/10.18182/tjf.94922
  15. Baltagi, B. H. (2005). Econometric analysis of panel data (3rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
  16. Cameron, A. C., & Trivedi, P. K. (2010). Microeconometrics using Stata (Rev. ed.). Stata Press.
  17. Cousins, B. (1999). Invisible capital: The contribution of communal rangelands to rural livelihoods in South Africa. Development Southern Africa, 16(2), 299–318.
  18. Cowie, A., Waters, C., Garland, F., Orgill, S., Baumber, A., Cross, R., O’Connell, D., & Metternicht, G. (2019). Assessing resilience to underpin implementation of land degradation neutrality. Environmental Science & Policy, 100, 37–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.06.002
  19. Delalandre, F., Minden, V., Vallicrosa, H., Tateno, R., & Vesk, P. A. (2025). Plasticity in plant traits to fertilisation treatments varies across ecological indicators and species. Annals of Botany, 135(4), 789–803. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcad022
  20. Demirel, A., & Türk, M. (2017). The effects of fertilization on yield and quality in the Burdur-Hacılar village sole pasture. Ziraat Fakültesi Dergisi, 12(1), 68–74.
  21. Devkota, L., Shrestha, R. K., Khatri, K. B., Acharya, B., & Sharma, S. (2025). Interactive effect of soil moisture content and nitrogen fertilizer sources on growth and nitrogen uptake in maize. Agricultura, 14728.
  22. Dhakal, C., & Lange, K. (2021). Crop yield response functions in nutrient application. Agronomy Journal, 113(6), 5222–5234. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20863
  23. di Virgilio, A., Lambertucci, S. A., & Morales, J. M. (2019). Sustainable grazing management in rangelands. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 283, 106561.
  24. Eyüpoğlu, F. (1999). Fertility status of Turkish soils. Soil and Fertiliser Research Institute.
  25. FAO. (2023). FAOSTAT: Land cover dataset. https://www.fao.org/faostat
  26. Francoeur, R. B. (2013). Could sequential residual centering resolve low sensitivity in moderated regression? Open Journal of Statistics, 3, 24–44. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojs.2013.36A004
  27. Gintzburger, G., Le Houérou, H. N., & Saidi, S. (2006). Near East–West Asia and semiarid rangelands. Sécheresse, 17, 152–168.
  28. Gökkuş, A. (2018). An evaluation of our pastures. TÜRKTOB Dergisi, 25, 6–8.
  29. Gujarati, D. N. (2011). Econometrics by example. Palgrave Macmillan.
  30. Gürel, F. (2023). Effects of breeding practices and fertilisation on vegetation in barren pasture. Turkish Journal of Range and Forage Science, 4(2), 101–107. https://doi.org/10.51801/turkjrfs.1354522
  31. He, M., & Dijkstra, F. A. (2014). Drought effect on plant nitrogen and phosphorus. New Phytologist, 204(4), 924–931. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.12952
  32. Heady, E. O., & Dillon, J. (1961). Agricultural production functions. Iowa State University Press.
  33. Holechek, J. L., Geli, H. M. E., Cibils, A. F., & Sawalhah, M. N. (2020). Climate change and rangelands. Sustainability, 12(12), 4942. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12124942
  34. Kara, A., Dumlu, E. S., Uzun, M., & Çakal, S. (2019). Twofold excessive utilisation rate threatens public rangelands. International Journal of Agriculture, Environment and Food Sciences, 3(3), 155–161. https://doi.org/10.31015/jaefs.2019.3.7
  35. Karagölge, C. (2001). Agricultural management. Atatürk University Publications.
  36. Kılıç, S., & Çınar, S. (2021). Effects of fertilizer applications on pasture yield and quality. Manas Journal of Agriculture, Veterinary and Life Sciences, 11(1), 67–75.
  37. Koç, A., Gökkuş, A., & Altın, M. (2003b). Comparison of the worldwide used methods in the definition of range condition and a suggestion for Turkey. In Proceedings of the 5th Field Crops Congress of Turkey (pp. 36–42), 13–17 October 2003, Diyarbakır, Türkiye.
  38. Koç, A., Güven, M., Çomaklı, B., Menteşe, Ö., & Bakoğlu, A. (2003a). Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization on grass yield and botanical composition of eastern Anatolian high-altitude rangelands. In Proceedings of the 5th Turkish Field Crops Congress (pp. 276–280), 13–17 October 2003, Diyarbakır, Türkiye.
  39. Mariotte, P., Cresswell, T., Johansen, M. P., Harrison, J. J., Keitel, C., & Dijkstra, F. A. (2020). Plant uptake of nitrogen and phosphorus among grassland species affected by drought along a soil available phosphorus gradient. Plant and Soil, 448, 121–132. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04407-0
  40. Mermer, A., Tahtacıoğlu, L., Avcı, M., & Güveli, S. (1996). Effect of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilisation on grass yield of natural pastures in Eastern Anatolia region. In Proceedings of the 3rd Turkish Meadow–Pasture and Forage Crops Congress (pp. 137–145), 17–19 June 1996, Erzurum, Türkiye. North Dakota State University. (1970). Native rangeland improvement studies (Research report). https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/ag-hub/publications/native-rangeland-improvement-studies
  41. Notes for Ag. (2022). Precipitation, relative humidity, and wind effects on crop growth. https://notesforag.com/precipitation-relative-humidity-wind-effects/
  42. National Research Council. (1999). Perspectives on biodiversity: Valuing its role in an ever-changing world. National Academy Press.
  43. Olson, K. D. (2011). Economics of farm management in a global setting. John Wiley & Sons.
  44. Pardini, A. (2009). Rangeland management. In F. Gherardi, C. Corti, & M. Gualtieri (Eds.), Biodiversity, conservation and habitat management (pp. 236–260). EOLSS Publishers.
  45. Polat, C., Yıldız, M., & Demir, S. (2007). Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus levels on forage yield and quality in semi-arid rangelands. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 30(8), 1283–1295.
  46. Polat, T., Bükün, B., & Okant, M. (2007). Dose response effect of nitrogen and phosphorus on forage quality, yield and economic return of rangelands. Pakistan Journal of Botany, 39(3), 807–816.
  47. Rehber, R. (1999). Agricultural valuation and expertise. Vipaş.
  48. Schacht, W. H., & Reece, P. E. (2009). Impact of livestock grazing on extensively managed grazing lands. In R. W. McDowell (Ed.), Environmental impact of pasture-based farming. CAB International.
  49. Schleuss, P. M., Widdig, M., Heintz-Buschart, A., Kirkman, K., & Spohn, M. (2020). Interactions of nitrogen and phosphorus cycling promote P acquisition and explain synergistic plant-growth responses. Ecology, 101(5), e03003. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3003
  50. Spohn, M., & Kuzyakov, Y. (2025). Long-term nutrient interactions: Nitrogen-driven phosphorus acquisition in low-input ecosystems. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 115(2), 155–170.
  51. StataCorp. (2015). Stata statistical software: Release 14. StataCorp LLC.
  52. Staub, J., Chatterton, J., Bushman, S., Johnson, D., Jones, T., Larson, S., Robins, J., & Monaco, T. (2016). A history of plant improvement by the USDA-ARS Forage and Range Research Laboratory for rehabilitation of degraded western US rangelands. Rangelands, 38(4), 233–240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rala.2016.08.004
  53. Torrell, L. A., Rimbey, N. R., Tanaka, J. A., Taylor, D. T., & Wulfhorst, J. D. (2014). Ranch level economic impact analysis for public lands: A guide to methods, issues, and applications. Journal of Rangeland Applications, 1, 1–13.
  54. Torres-Reyna, O. (2007). Panel data analysis: Fixed and random effects using Stata (v. 4.2). Princeton University. https://www.princeton.edu/~otorres/Panel101.pdf
  55. Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT). (2024a). Agricultural land and forest area, 1988–2024. https://data.tuik.gov.tr/
  56. Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT). (2024b). Livestock statistics: Number of livestock. https://biruni.tuik.gov.tr/medas/?kn=101&locale=tr
  57. Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT). (2024c). Chemical fertiliser use, 2009–2024. https://data.tuik.gov.tr/
  58. Uslu, Ö. S., Yoldaş, N., Demir, Z., & Kafkas, B. (2021). Effects of nitrogen fertilization on yield, quality and botanical composition of a pasture in Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye. Manas Journal of Agriculture, Veterinary and Life Sciences, 11(1), 28–34.
  59. Wang, R., Bicharanloo, B., Hou, E., Jiang, Y., & Dijkstra, F. A. (2022). Phosphorus supply increases nitrogen transformation rates and retention in soil: A global meta-analysis. Earth’s Future, 10(3), e2021EF002479. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EF002479
  60. Williams, R. E., Allred, B. W., Reginald, M. D., & Paulsen, H. A. (1968). Conservation, development, and use of the world’s rangelands. Journal of Range Management, 21, 355–360.
  61. Zhao, R., Huang, X., & Chen, Y. (2023). Nitrogen–phosphorus interactions and alfalfa yield: A quadratic response to high P under arid conditions. Field Crops Research, 294, 108516.