Relationships between soil properties, topography and land use in the Van Lake Basin, Turkey

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between soil properties anddifferent topography and land uses in the Van Lake Basin, Turkey. It has sharp and sheerslopes, and the big differences on altitude generally occur from the mountainousformations. Surface soil samples (0–20 cm) were taken from 40 different points with threedifferent topography (backslope, footslope and terrace) and three different landuses(wheat, clover and pasture). Some of the studied soil properties (soil texture, electricalconductivity [EC], pH, lime content, organic matter content, macro and micro nutrients)changed in response to land use and topography. The clay, boron content, pH and ECvalues increased from the backslope to the terrace. Soil organic matter and EC values werelower in cultivated wheat and clover fields than in uncultivated pasture. The EC values hadsignificant positive correlations with CaCO3, organic matter, K, B, Cu contents at 5% leveland with Mg at 1% level statistically. The soil nutrient contents of cultivated wheat andclover fields were generally lower than the uncultivated pasture. The nutrient contents ofsoils in cultivated fields decreased due to nutrient uptake by crops. Soil texture, EC, pH,lime, organic matter and nutrient contents significantly varied in different topographicpositions due to leaching, transporting and accumulation.